Where Talent Goes To Die
by Theralion
Summary: At a school like Hope's Peak, an all too familiar killing game begins once more, another echo of the tragedy that drove the world insane. How many promising young lives will it claim? Who is responsible? And is the re-occurrence of this tragedy a coincidence, or the result of someone's plan?
1. Prologue

**Where Talent Goes To Die**

* * *

 **Prologue: Like Deja Vu All Over Again**

I'm sure you've all heard about Hope's Peak Academy, Japan's most prestigious and exclusive high school-cum-science experiment on talent. Admission is not a matter of money or grades, but talent- you need to be in high school, and be _the_ very best at what you do. Oh, and there's also a "Reserve Course" for people who don't mind paying huge sums of money for a second-rate school, just so they can get a diploma with "Hope's Peak" on it, but that's neither here nor there.

But this story isn't about Hope's Peak. It's about Talent High School, which is to Hope's Peak what the local burger joint is to McDonald's. It isn't quite as famous or well-established, but it has a similar premise, and apparently, apart from the name, the quality is about the same- as are the entrance requirements. As such, while being scouted for Talent High School isn't as good as being scouted for Hope's Peak, anyone in the former group with any common sense would gladly take what they can get.

As for me, my name is **Kaori Miura** , and I'm not anyone particularly special. I'm a pretty good student who got into a fairly good high school, just like my older sister did two years before me. My parents make enough to put food on the table and pay for my and my sister's education, but not enough to splurge on some expensive private school. As such, you can imagine that they were overjoyed when I got into Talent High School.

My claim to fame isn't being at the top of my class, excelling in a sport or other extracurricular activity, having a promising budding career, or even being lucky. I somehow helped my high school's mahjong club win a local tournament despite only recently having started playing, having joined the club at the request of one of my new friends at my high school. I was completely out of my depth in that game, but somehow knew which tiles were safe to discard, and stumbled into several valuable hands, including a few yakumans. In the first round, I reduced one of my opponents to below 0 points, winning before any of my teammates needed to play, and in the semifinals and finals, I gained enough points to give my team an insurmountable lead.

A scout from Talent High School had been watching the tournament, and took an interest in me. He introduced himself to my team, and after reassuring us that that he wasn't accusing me of cheating, told me that if I'd done so well with so little experience, that I had the potential to be the **Ultimate Mahjong Player**. As a further test of my ability, he asked me to come to the school and play some professional mahjong players. Unfortunately, my talent no longer helped me- or perhaps my opponents were simply that much more competent- and I was soundly defeated, perhaps as badly as any ordinary high school student would have been.

Ordinarily, that would have been the end of that. The scout would have written my victory off as a fluke and continued his search, but the school authorities had been intrigued by my skill, and arranged for me to test my skill against another incoming student, the Ultimate Shogi Player. My talent saw me through once again, and . After some discussion, the school determined I was a rare case of a multi-talented student, dubbing me the **Ultimate Beginner's Luck** , and formally inviting me to come to Talent High School.

And so, I found myself standing outside Talent High School, wondering whether I deserved to be there. I wasn't exactly the same as those who were the best at their chosen pursuits, even if I wasn't quite like the countless multitudes who worked their entire lives to be merely halfway decent at one profession or hobby, so most highly exclusive schools wouldn't give me a second look. Still, the administrators had seen something in me, something that they believed justified giving me this chance, and all I could do was make the most of it. My mind made up, I took a step forward, and entered the school.

* * *

As I slowly woke up in what looked like a classroom, my mind went back to the last memory I'd had before waking up- coming to Talent High School.

A quick look at my sleeve was enough to remind me that I was wearing my old school's uniform- a charcoal gray blazer and skirt, a white dress shirt, and a red and blue striped necktie- along with black socks and dress shoes. A part of me wondered if I'd fallen asleep in class, meaning that the entire business with the Talent High School was all just some dream I'd had, and I was a new second-year at my old school. Of course, I remembered that I'd been asked to wear my old school's uniform to Talent High School, and the classroom didn't look like any of the ones in my old school.

The first thing that I noticed in a was the plates that were bolted to the windows, preventing me from seeing what was going outside or how light out it was, and the room was oddly dim. My gaze then drifted to the clock, which read 2:00- either afternoon classes were in session, or it was past any self-respecting student's bedtime. I then checked my own watch- an analog watch my parents had bought me to replace the anime character watch I'd had when I was younger- and saw that the time matched. I was comfortable with a long-sleeved shirt and blazer on, so while I guessed that it was the "winter uniform" season, between October and June, I couldn't tell the season or date.

I then noticed a beautiful girl with long raven hair standing in front of the blackboard, one I was fairly sure I'd seen somewhere before. She wore a navy blue blazer-style uniform with a white dress shirt and a blue necktie that fit her slender frame well, and her badge-like school crest made her look a bit like a uniformed police officer. Like me, she wore dark dress shoes, but with white pantyhose. Our uniforms were similar, but even a casual observer could tell we went to different schools, judging from the colors and the school crests. Evidently, she'd been watching over me for some time, but wanted to keep some distance, probably to give me time to wake up and get my bearings.

"Oh, good, you're awake," the girl said as she walked over to me. "How are you feeling?"

"All right, thank you," I said as I sat up. "I don't really know what's going on, though."

"Unfortunately, neither do I," the girl said. "We're not alone in here, so when you're ready, I'll take you to where everyone else is gathered."

I nodded, then stood up. The act came surprisingly easily to me, as if I were waking up from an afternoon nap, rather than an extended coma. As I stood, I checked the pocket of my skirt and blazer, only to find that I only had about 580 yen worth of change on my person- my bookbag, wallet, cell phone and key to my family's apartment were missing. Normally, I'd be quite worried if I lost any one of those things, much less all of them, but I knew that finding out where my possessions were was a lower priority than finding out where _I_ was.

"So, Miura-san, was it?" the girl said as I was rummaging around in my pockets.

"Yes, I'm Miura," I said as I looked her in the eye, "Kaori Miura. I take it you read the name tag on my blazer?"

"Either that, or I'm psychic. I didn't want to make assumptions though- for all we know, you might have borrowed your blazer from another girl who answers to 'Miura-san.'"

I chuckled. At first glance, the girl had struck me as fairly polite, and even a bit reserved, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear her use a joke to break the ice.. Something seemed familiar about her, and it was confirmed when I saw that she had a name tag that read "Edogawa" on her uniform.

"But anyway, I'm forgetting my manners. My name is **Sae Edogawa** , and I'm the **Ultimate Mystery Novelist**. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miura-san."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Edogawa-san," I said as we bowed to each other.

After taking a moment to register Edogawa-san's name, I knew it wasn't a coincidence- I didn't know her, but I definitely knew _of_ her. She was well-known as a mystery writer, and not just because she was young. Her best-selling Aiko Aizawa books- a series of light novels about the eponymous high school student who moonlighted as a detective- were highly realistic and contained surprisingly relevant social commentary, while also being highly suspenseful page-turners. I was quite familiar with them, since I had avidly read them since they first started coming out three years ago, and had read all nine books to date. A part of me didn't think it was real, but now, I knew for certain- if I'd been accepted to Talent High School, then I was seeing my favorite young author in the flesh.

"Wait a minute," I said. "I know who you are- I'm a big fan of your books! It's such an honor to meet you in person, Sensei!"

"Sensei? I'm flattered to hear you're a fan of mine, but 'Edogawa-san' or just 'Edogawa' are perfectly fine. If you insist on calling me by my first name, like a certain someone does, I won't complain."

"Sorry, Sensei," I said. "I'm just really excited that I'm actually talking to the person who wrote some of my favorite books."

Sensei nodded, evidently used to dealing with fans like me. I'd gotten a little carried away for a moment, but as far as her admirers went, I was probably one of the saner ones.

"Fair enough, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Come with me, and I'll show you to the others- they're in the gymnasium."

I walked out of the classroom along with Sensei. I didn't know how long I'd been asleep, but moving came somewhat easily to me.

We stepped into the hallway, and I briefly looked around, noticing that no one seemed to be walking around. I did notice a few surveillance cameras, though, and felt a bit nervous- I could never tell whether such devices were more to keep us safe or to keep us in line. There also seemed to be monitors scattered around the halls and in every room. Judging from how many I'd seen, it was likely that if all of them came on and played a video announcement, every student in the school would be close enough to see or hear it.

I followed Sensei's lead, since she, while still unfamiliar with this place, clearly knew the way better than I did. As we walked through the ground floor, we first laid eyes on an ominous-looking set of double doors, before quickly making a right and passing by a rec room and the school store. I glanced to my left and saw what looked like the front entrance.

"Um, isn't that the exit?" I said.

"It's supposed to be," Sensei said. "Everyone who passed by it, myself included, tried to get the door open through various means- force, using the control panel and even yelling for help- but all of our attempts proved futile. I can take a moment to show you if you're not convinced."

I walked over and took a look. Beyond the double doors that led into the hallway, there was a small lobby, with little of note in it apart from a few bulletin boards, and the door Sensei had just mentioned. The door was a large, thick metal one that looked like a bank vault. While such doors made me feel that my family's money- which my parents had earned at their jobs, and which I'd saved from allowance and New Year's money- was safe, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. Even if you locked yourself in, you should still be able to open the door from the inside, after all.

"In any case, what's with this place?" I said. "It seems pretty tightly sealed up for a school, with steel plates screwed to the windows and this door that looks like it's guarding a military base or prison. What's all this for? To make sure that perverts don't look inside?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sensei said. "My old school was somewhat strict, but even they didn't go this far, even at night or on holidays."

"Well, maybe this school full of Ultimate students went the extra mile with security?" I said. "Or maybe they're taking advantage of the in-house talent."

"I don't know," Sensei said. "Still, we shouldn't play around with the door until we get a better idea of how we might open it, lest we risk rendering it inoperable."

I nodded, then followed Sensei out of the room. We turned a left and walked down the hall, past a shutter that looked like the kind you see when a store in a shopping mall is closed.

"The stairs to the second floor are blocked, too," I said. "That's odd..."

"What do you mean?" Sensei said.

"Now that I think about it, I actually visited here when I was scouted, and it didn't look anything like this," I said. "I remember going up those stairs and all the way up to the auditorium and headmistress' office on the top floor. It mostly seemed like a normal school, only it was a lot taller than one."

While I was in good enough shape that I didn't mind climbing several flights of stairs, I couldn't help but be a bit surprised that the third floor wasn't the top one, or that I'd end up having to walk across each floor to find the stairs up to the next one.

"I had the same impression," Sensei said. "When I asked about the design, the people who were showing me around said something about how they didn't have the land for a more traditional three-story layout. But yes, the school has changed a great deal since we visited and I'm not sure why- I don't know much about designing a building, but I don't think they could have installed all these plates without breaking a few laws."

I chuckled at Sensei's remark. Of course, while this entire school seemed quite suspicious, even ominous, I knew that our being invited wasn't some kind of scam. Talent High School didn't have Hope's Peak's reputation, but it was well-known, and many famous people had graduated from it, so it wasn't as though it was designed to imprison talented students.

"By the way, Miura-san, there's something I forgot to ask you," Sensei said. "What exactly is your Ultimate talent?"

I sighed, having hoped Sensei wouldn't ask about it.

"Nothing all that impressive," I said. "I'm the Ultimate Beginner's Luck, and I have the ability to win virtually any game I've barely even played before no matter how tough my opponent is... or so they say."

One of the scouts told me that he suspected my ability could potentially beyond simple games, but he wasn't sure of that. Competing against the very best, and winning when people with my level of skill wouldn't stand a chance was the most obvious way of proving my skill, and it was possible it might manifest elsewhere- or at least they hoped it would. The possibility of someone who could do pretty much anything without practice or training sounded fairly exciting, after all. Of course, as a student who had to study hard for good grades, I was a little more skeptical that I could master anything.

"That seems like an intriguing skill. It took a long time for me to improve my skills to the point at which I could write something worthy of being published, so to quickly master a game you've only just started playing is truly impressive."

"Actually, Sensei, that's the problem. As the name implies, it's more of a mixture of good luck and intuition, rather than skill- something tells me what the right moves are. More importantly, though, is the "beginner" part- it gradually fades as I get experience in the game, and is more or less gone before I'm even halfway competent. Winning one tournament as an amateur is enough for an article in the paper, and maybe the attention of a talent scout, but it doesn't make a career. After all, you're not a one-hit wonder, are you?"

Now that I thought about it, I never really stuck with much of the games that I played for very long- I did well at first, then gave it up when my skill declined, and I realized I wasn't anything special, after all. This realization wasn't too unusual- my dad played basketball while he was a student, but stopped when he graduated college, since he couldn't go pro. In my case, the wake-up call came especially harshly, a bit like if a hotel staffer dumped a bucket of ice water on my head instead of calling my room.

"I'll admit that's true," Sensei said. "That said, you have been recognized for your talent, and given this rare and valuable opportunity. I know all too well that most aspiring writers work at least as hard as I do, but have much less to show for it. With that in mind, you can only be grateful for your gift, and make the most of it."

"Thank you, Sensei," I said. "I do try to think of things that way, since I actually once wanted to be a writer, just like you."

"You did?" Sensei said. "Or rather, you used to?"

I sadly nodded.

"I used to, until I found out that I didn't have what it takes to get published," I said. "If career aspirations could be compared to romance, it's a bit like if I had a crush on the most popular girl in my school, who probably doesn't even know my name. That's why my parents told me to forget about trying to write books and to focus on my studies."

I tried to sound calm, but disappointment crept into my voice. The last time my parents and I had this discussion was at the start of my last year of middle school. They'd told me that I'd need a few possible ideas for a career, and said, as gently as possible, since they'd have to be _realistic_ ones, writing for a living was off the table. I'd mostly come to terms with the fact that I'd never be a writer, but it's not easy to let go of your dreams, even the ones that won't come true.

"A fair decision, as well as a wise one," Sensei said, "since one's education should come first. That said, I do sympathize with you- if my father had his way, I'd have given up writing a long time ago. Besides, I may have achieved the distinction of becoming a published author at a young age, but I'm not up to the level of Hope's Peak's Ultimate Writing Prodigy."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. Given the extraordinary odds against my becoming a writer and my limited ability to overcome them, my parents weren't wrong to encourage me to find some other line of work, but why would an Ultimate's father discourage her from pursuing her talent? Good parents would encourage their children to play to their strong suits, while less benevolent ones might hope to exploit their talented offspring. So what kind of person was Sensei's father, and why wouldn't he be happy to have such a talented writer as a daughter?

For now, I didn't get an answer to that, since Sensei decided to change the subject.

"But enough about myself," Sensei said. "It isn't fair for me to take up all your time, especially not when there's fourteen other Ultimates for you to meet. They're all waiting to meet you."

I nodded, as we passed through the door into the gym lobby, with a glass case full of the school's past athletic glories.

"Before we go in, I'd like to go to the bathroom," I said, "to make sure my hair's combed, my tie's properly tied and everything else is all right. First impressions are important, after all- I'd have done this already if I'd known I was going to meet my favorite young author."

Sensei giggled, partly flattered and partly amused by my concern over something so quaint.

"I'd say you look mostly presentable," Sensei said, "with the possible exception of one strand of hair that's sticking up."

I looked at my faint reflection in the glass of the trophy case, and saw that Sensei was right. My blazer was clean and surprisingly free of wrinkles, my shirt was tucked into my skirt, and my tie was snugly tied around my collar. My brown hair, which reached my shoulders, was neatly combed, except for the one hair Sensei mentioned- the one that I could never get to lay down.

"Oh, that," I said. "Well, then I'm about as good as I'll ever be. Thank you, Sensei."

"You're welcome," Sensei said. "I can understand being concerned about your appearance- one of the girls is a bit of a stickler for such things."

We then entered the gym. The gym was, as might be expected, a long and wide open space with basketball hoops, painted lines to mark boundaries for various games, and a podium at the back, as if to prove that it doubled as an assembly hall. Near the podium, there was a small table set up, with sixteen small electronic devices on it.

Fourteen other students- six more girls and eight boys- were waiting. They had a broad range of talent, from intellectual pursuits to physical ones, from traditional pursuits to new skills. They wore all sorts of different outfits- some, like Sensei and I, wore blazer-style uniforms, others wore sailor fukus and gyakurans, and still others didn't seem to bother with the uniforms. Those that did, however, seemed to wear the uniforms of their old schools, rather than their new one, judging by the various styles, colors and school crests on display.

"I'm sorry I'm late, everyone," Sensei said, "but I had to fetch our sixteenth member. Her name is Kaori Miura, and her talent is the Ultimate Beginner's Luck."

"Miura?" a familiar-looking boy with spiky black hair, a black blazer and trousers, a white dress shirt and a white and black checkered necktie, said.

"Do you know her, Kurogane-kun?" Sensei said.

Kurogane-kun nodded. His appearance was only vaguely familiar, but I knew his name quite well- apparently, that was mutual.

"I do," Kurogane-kun said. "We only met once, in the recent past, but I'll never forget that time."

As Kurogane-kun fixed me with a cold stare, the memories began flowing back. He, the winner of several youth shogi tournaments, was the one who had faced me in a shogi game to test my skills, and I was ashamed to acknowledge that the match had more personal significance for him than it did for me.

"I'm **Shiro Kurogane** , and I'm the **Ultimate Shogi Player** , recent events notwithstanding. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Kurogane-kun curtly turned around and walked back into the crowd, unwilling to even let me say "Nice to meet you," much less apologize to him.

A moment of awkward silence followed. I don't think any of the students here, all of whom seemed to be from different schools, expected any of us to know each other, much less have a grudge.

"Please do not hold Kurogane-san's rudeness against him," a girl said. "All of us are understandably tense considering the circumstances."

I turned, and saw the speaker, a girl with dark hair in a bun and professional-looking eyeglasses, step forward out of the crowd. She wore a dark sailor fuku that matched her hair, with a neatly tied red neckerchief and a red armband. She seemed neatly groomed, but didn't have a single bit of makeup on her face- if her school was like mine, she probably wasn't allowed to wear makeup.

"I won't," I said. "I make it my policy to put my best foot forward with people irregardless of how rude they may be to me."

"I believe you mean 'regardless,' Miura-san," the girl said. "The word you just used is 'not regardless', and is thus a double negative that means the opposite of what you clearly meant."

"Oh, sorry," I said.

"It is not a problem. I simply cannot help but correct others when they make mistakes- it is in my nature as the **Ultimate Proofreader.** My name is **Reiko Mitamura,** and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Mitamura-san," I said, as we bowed to each other.

I'd heard of Mitamura-san's work before, even if I hadn't heard of her by name. She was said to be "perfect" at her job- admittedly, an adjective that was fairly common with the Ultimates- as proofreader for some of her school's newsletters and other publications, since apparently, she'd _never_ let any mistakes pass without being caught and fixed. She was also a member of her school's disciplinary committee, hence the red armband.

I'd heard that a degree from Talent High School, while not as prestigious as one from Hope's Peak, opened a lot of doors when it came to colleges and careers, but I had to wonder whether Mitamura-san needed it. Not only was she an Ultimate, but she was also an excellent student and a productive member of her school community, so she'd practically be a shoo-in, even for Tokyo University. Of course, seeing my sister, who was two years older than me, struggle to get into a good school, I knew that students our age needed every edge we could get.

"Don't feel too bad, Kaori-chan," a blonde in a blue and white cheerleading outfit said. "I've only just met Reiko-chan, and she gets on my case al-ll the time."

"Yuuki-san, I do believe I asked you to call me 'Mitamura-san.' As for Miura-san, it would be most prudent if you were to obtain her permission before calling her by her given name."

I shook my head. Maybe Yuuki-san could use a few lessons on manners, but even if she was overly familiar with others, I didn't sense anything malicious about it. Most people I knew, including myself, only used first names on family and close friends, but maybe Yuuki-san already thought of me as a friend. While I chose to be a bit more formal with her, at least for now, I at least could appreciate her sentiments.

"No, it's fine with me," I said. "Yuuki-san, right?"

"Yep! I'm **Ami Yuuki** , the **Ultimate Cheerleader**! Nice to meetcha!"

Again, I'd heard about Yuuki-san's exploits. She'd helped galvanize her middle school's students into getting out to support their sports teams, and had become a regular on her high school's team in her first year. During that year, the otherwise mediocre football team enjoyed an unusually good run, causing people to wonder why. None of the football players seemed especially impressive, so the scout's eye fell on Yuuki-san. After seeing her talents, he extended an invitation to her.

"Likewise," I said.

"Thanks! I think we're going to get along just fine, but there's some more people who want to meet you, so I'll scoot off now. Catch you later!"

As Yuuki-san ran off, a boy walked up to me. He wore a plaid button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves, along with a fishing vest, wading pants and a backpack with a camo pattern. He wore a baseball cap on his head, and curly light brown hair peeked out from under it.

"That girl's a real handful," the boy said. "Still, she seems like a nice person, and it's pretty impressive how she can talk so easily with someone she's just met. Don't you agree, Miura-san?"

I nodded. At times, I had to remind myself that the other fifteen students in the gym hadn't known each other for much longer than I'd known them.

"I do," I said. "It's nice to meet you..."

" **Minato Mizuhara**. People call me the **Ultimate Fisherman**. Not much good in a school where the largest body of water is the school pool- assuming we have one- but such is life."

His tone was surprisingly laid-back for our situation, not to mention humble for someone who had a knack for catching record-setting fish. It wasn't all that long before talent scouts noticed that his name kept coming up when people talked about the winners of the competition, or that he was one of the few successful contenders in high school.

"I'm kinda surprised, Mizuhara," a boy in a dark red tracksuit said. "I thought you'd at least be a bit antsy about not getting to use your Ultimate Talent, too."

"Personally, I can wait, Sakuragi-kun," Mizuhara-kun said. "Getting out of here takes precedence."

"I agree," I said, "not that I have much to be proud of."

"Yeah, I gotcha. Oh, sorry, Miura, I forgot you were here. I'm **Akito Sakuragi** , the **Ultimate Sprinter**. I hold Japan's record time for the 100 meter sprint in my age group... for now, at least."

I had to wonder if the bar was set lower for these Ultimate students, simply because they were still in high school. Perhaps Sensei or the Ultimate Writing Prodigy of Hope's Peak had achieved greater success than most of their peers could dream of, but there were countless older and more accomplished authors in Japan, to say nothing of the rest of the world. Of course, perhaps the hope was that they'd achieve even greater success when they were older, and all of them were quite impressive as they were now.

Two more boys stepped up. One was a decently tall boy with brown hair in blackk gyakuran that had shiny buttons, as well as a white school crest that looked like a crescent moon. Another was ginger-haired and wore an apron over a yellow dress shirt and gray trousers, the former of which had its sleeves rolled up.

"I'm **Yusuke Tezuka** , and I'm the **Ultimate Abstract Artist** ," the ginger-haired boy said. "Paintings, sculptures, metal works- you name it, I make it."

I didn't have much interest in art, but I'd seen Tezuka-kun's work on display at a local exhibit during a social studies field trip. His magnum opus was a kaleidoscopic display of colors that had many different interpretations. I didn't know enough about art to take a stab at interpreting it, but to be respected in so competitive a field at such a young age was nothing short of impressive.

"And I'm **Sora Hoshino** , the **Ultimate Astronomer** ," the first boy said, " _not_ the Ultimate _Astrologer_. You know, the kind who looks at stars, not the kind that uses them to try to predict the future... right, Tezuka?"

I nodded, albeit briefly wondering if he'd already forgotten my name. I'd heard about Hoshino-kun's findings showing up in several astronomy journals.

Tezuka-kun nodded, a bit sheepishly, likely having learned the lesson the hard way. It was obvious to me that getting on Hoshino-kun's bad side would not be very wise... or difficult.

"Yeah, yeah, I fucked up," Tezuka-kun said. "Course, I can't blame you- the horoscope's only good for catching paint while I'm working or wiping my ass after I take a shit."

I wasn't exactly a prude, but I was a bit shocked to hear that sort of profanity flow so easily from Tezuka-kuns mouth, possibly because it conflicted with my image of him as a sophisticated and gentlemanly artist. If nothing else, I'd have to remember not to fall back on stereotypes.

A blond boy with glasses, who wore a blazer-style uniform that looked like Sensei's, walked over. The convenient thing about blazer-style uniforms was that they were quite simple to design- the boys essentially had to wear what was looked like a man's business suit, and you only needed to swap the pants for a skirt to make a girls' uniform.

"So we've got, what, 16 people now?" the boy said. "That's a relief. Until Kurogane-kun and Yuuki-san got here, I thought I was going to be the thirteenth and last member of our group. Thanks for bringing our number up, Miura-san."

I let his superstitions pass without comment. There were more important things at the moment, particularly his name.

"Why, you're welcome..." I said.

"I'm **Shinichi Inoue** , the **Ultimate Linguist** ," the boy said in Japanese, before switching to English. "How is your English, Miss Miura?"

Inoue-kun's English was practically flawless, perfectly pronounced and with no trace of an accent. Granted, it was a fairly simple sentence, in a language that most of us had taken in school, so I was only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it came to his talent. Of course, his talent was probably easier to demonstrate than most of the rest of ours, since he could do so in a standard conversation.

"Pretty good, thank you," I said in English, before switching to Japanese. "But I am more comfortable in Japanese, Inoue-kun, so if it's fine with you, I'd rather speak in our native tongue."

"All right. I do enjoy speaking foreign languages, so I'd rather be abroad traveling and using one of my 20 other languages. C'est la vie."

I nodded in agreement, since while I didn't know French, I knew that expression. Given how many words in various languages had their roots in other languages, even those who only knew one language probably knew at least a few words in several others.

"By the way, Inoue-kun," I said, "you seem to have the same uniform as Sensei...I mean, Edogawa-san. Do you know each other?"

Inoue-kun looked around, then shook his head. Apparently, he was trying to see if Sensei could hear us, but I'd lost sight of her at some point while I was meeting the other Ultimates.

"I know about Edogawa-san, but I don't know her," Inoue-kun said, "since while we were in the same class at the same school, we've never really talked. Between us, she always seemed a bit shy and didn't really have many friends."

I was a bit surprised. Sensei seemed to be somewhat confident and calm, even in circumstances like these, so I was a bit surprised that she wasn't comfortable socializing with others her age.

"Anyway, just take it with a grain of salt," Inoue-kun said. "It's not like I know her all that well, either."

"True," I said. "I suppose I'll need to keep an open mind, then."

"That's good," Inoue-kun said. "The two of you seem to be getting along well so far, so I'm glad for that."

I scanned the room for the remaining people I had yet to meet, and my eyes fell on a ruby-haired girl. She wore a blazer-style uniform with a red blazer and neck ribbon, a red and black plaid skirt, and a black dress shirt. Beside her stood a brunette with what looked like a waitress uniform- a white button-down shirt with a dark bow tie, vest and skirt. I noticed a clear difference in height between the two girls- the redhead was a little shorter than I was, while the brunette barely came up to my shoulder.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," the first girl said. "My name is **Kuro Akasaka** , and I'm the **Ultimate Checkers** **Player**."

"It's nice to meet you, Akasaka-san," I said, as we exchanged bows. "I heard about your winning several checkers tournaments when I was scouted."

"That's right," Akasaka-san said. "They actually said that I might face you as a test of your talent, but it didn't end up happening. That's a shame, since it might have been a fun match."

For a moment, I wondered why Akasaka-san said this. Maybe didn't mind losing, or maybe she was confident enough in her skills that she didn't seriously consider the possibility. Of course, the fact that she said "fun" seemed to indicate a third possibility- winning and losing weren't what mattered most to her.

"I think so, too," I said. "Maybe we can play some time."

"And I am **Anzu Sugiura** , the **Ultimate Waitress** ," the second girl said. "As a bit of friendly advice, while Akasaka-san thinks of her talent as being tied to a game, Kurogane-san _does not_ think of his own the same way."

I nodded. Akasaka-san and Kurogane-kun's talents seemed very similar, but apart from that, the two were as different as black and white. The polite and friendly Akasaka-san would likely politely correct my mistake, then laugh it off, while Kurogane-kun would likely hold it against me for some time, on top of his previous grudge.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Sugiura-san," I said. "I must confess, though, that unlike everyone else, I don't think I've heard about you."

"This is hardly surprising," Sugiura-san said, "since waiting tables is often a thankless job. That said, doing a good job can have its perks- one of my family's restaurant's patrons was a scout, who apparently liked my service so much that he named me he Ultimate Waitress."

"That's nice," I said. "A lot of people have to try their hardest just to do a halfway decent job in their profession, so it's impressive that you were honored for your work."

"Thank you," Sugiura-san said. "You should come by our restaurant some time- you seem like you'd be a good customer."

Another student, a girl who I nearly mistook for a boy, walked out of the crowd to greet me. The girl was quite tall, towering over Sugiura-san, and I estimated that she was probably 180 centimeters tall. Her hair was quite short and in a somewhat boyish style, her physique was somewhat muscular, and her skin had a light tan. The girl wore a sky-blue button-down shirt with blue bib overalls, an outfit that might be casual attire, but was more likely intended to be workwear. She probably stood out the most out of all of us, so I was a bit surprised I didn't notice her sooner.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Miura," the girl said in a feminine tone with a slight country accent. "My name's **Momo Iwasawa** , and I'm the **Ultimate** **Farm Hand**."

Iwasawa-san offered me her hand, apparently more used to handshakes than bows, just like she apparently preferred English courtesy titles to Japanese honorifics. I didn't mind the difference, though, since she seemed like she was trying to be polite, so I took her hand and shook it, noticing that she had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Nice to meet you, too, Iwasawa-san," I said. "To be honest, I... think I guessed you were a farmer."

As I blushed faintly out of embarrassment over judging a book by its cover, Iwasawa-san was magnanimous enough to laugh it off.

"I get that a lot," Iwasawa-san said pleasantly. "I'm from an isolated farming community, which means I'm new to the big city. A lot of the folks back home were worried about me, but Mama insisted I'd do just fine over here."

"I see. If you're having trouble with anything, feel free to ask any of us for help."

"Thank you kindly, I will."

Iwasawa-san was probably the most obscure of the Ultimates, which made me feel even worse for not having heard of Sugiura-san. That said, I'd heard that she was particularly accomplished in relatively traditional methods of farming. Like some Ultimates, her claim to fame wasn't any particularly noteworthy accomplishment, but being able to work alongside experienced adults as an equal.

Another guy walked up, his dark hair in a buzz cut. He wore a white tank top and blue jeans, the former of which showed off his strong, muscular arms. He wasn't that tall- in fact, he was about the same height I was- but he seemed like he was in really good shape.

"I'm **Daichi Fukuda** , the **Ultimate Rock Climber**. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Fukuda-kun," I said.

"Thanks," Fukuda-kun said. "I just hope you're not expecting me to show off my talent- like Iwasawa, my talent's more of an outdoors thing."

Fukuda-kun's accomplishments spoke for themselves. He'd made a name for himself by completing many difficult climbs as soon as he was old enough to do so. On one of those occasions, he saved a stranded hiker... who happened to be a talent scout for Talent High School.

"That's fine. Of course, maybe there's a climbing wall in here."

"Yeah, I hope so, but really, there's no substitute for a natural rock wall."

A girl with light brown hair in a ponytail walked up to me. She wore a cranberry-colored suit jacket and trousers along with a white blouse. While most of the others were dressed for school, she was dressed for an office job.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miura-san. My name is **Komaki Katsura** , and I am the **Ultimate Saleswoman**."

"It's nice to meet you, Katsura-san," I said as we bowed.

Katsura-san then reached into the pocket of her trousers and offered me a business card.

"Here is my business card," Katsura-san said. "While I am still a high school student, I am proficient in marketing, public relations, advertising and forming relationships with clients. I believe my skills can fill your organization's needs, and look forward to working with you."

From what I'd heard, Katsura-san had simultaneously been PR rep and treasurer of her middle school's student council, which was somewhat understaffed. In high school, she took part in the business club, and won a competition to make business pitches to respected business leaders, a competition that the talent scouts had been closely watching. In order to get into Talent High School, she didn't just have to win, but also had to impress the talent scout, both of which were easy tasks for an Ultimate-caliber student.

"Thank you, Katsura-san," I said. "Unfortunately, I don't really belong to any organizations, except for one time when I participated in a high school mahjong tournament on the request of a friend of mine, who was in our school's club."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Katsura-san said. "I sometimes have trouble telling others about myself, so I fall back on my 'elevator speech'- a means of self-introduction that you can do in a short elevator ride, as the name implies. I'm good at making arguments, and can even do a little small talk to break the ice, but I'm not good at casual socializing."

The way Katsura-san put it made it sound like chatting with others was some sort of difficult and elaborate process that had strict rules and high stakes. I didn't have many people I considered close friends, but I could fairly easily get to a good level of comfort around the friends we did have. We never talked about anything particularly deep or meaningful, but among what we could talk about, I felt comfortable with saying what was on my mind without worrying what my friends would think. By comparison, Katsura-san seemed like a serious individual who always felt as though she had to be mindful of what she said and how she presented herself.

Of course, while Katsura-san wasn't good at just talking with people, but she seemed to be good enough at what she did that it wasn't a problem. Not only were the Ultimates the best at what they did, but they were also quite skilled in several other related fields- for example, Sensei wasn't just an amazing writer, but she also was quite knowledgeable about detective work, courtroom procedures and criminal law, among other things. Even my "talent" seemed to have related advantages- I had a knack for learning the rules of various games, and people often told me that they never had to explain things to me more than once. Some talents were better than others, but I could think of at least a few different applications for each of them, and thus a few possible careers for those who had them.

"Well, accurately summing up your strong points in a short amount of time is a talent in and of itself," a nearby silver-haired boy in a grey gyakuran, who wore eyeglasses and had a pair of headphones around his neck, said. "I'm honestly a bit jealous."

"I know what you mean," I said. "My Ultimate talent isn't good for much, since it allows me initial success, but doesn't make for much of a career."

"At least you have one. My name's **Sousuke Kagami** , and, unfortunately, **I don't remember my talent.** "

I was surprised for a moment. Most of the Ultimates had freely provided their titles, clearly proud of being the best in their chosen fields, and even relatively ordinary people had at least a few things they could say they were good at- while I wasn't author material, I got very good grades in Composition. If Kagami-kun couldn't even guess his title, and I hadn't heard of him, was it possible that he didn't remember?

"You mean you have amnesia?" I said.

"Probably," Kagami-kun said. "After all, none of us remember how we ended up trapped in here, do we?"

"Well, we all did get invited to come here," I said. "Of course, I did actually visit the school, so I know it wasn't always locked and sealed up like this. The only question is how the school changed from the one I visited to the one we're trapped inside."

"It's possible we don't remember the process," Sensei said. "I must admit that I'm not completely familiar with how amnesia works, but if we woke up in this school with no memory of how we got here, it's safe to say someone tampered with our memories- and perhaps Kagami-kun's."

"That's possible," Inoue-kun said. "But the thing about memories is... you don't actually know whether they're things you _want_ to remember. I'm sure a lot of people have gone through something they wished they could forget. Maybe we _chose_ to forget what happened."

"Maybe we did, Shinichi-kun," Yuuki-san said. "Or maybe if we remember how we got in, we'll know how to get out!"

"Rather than think in terms of what we might have forgotten, let us instead consider our present situation," Mitamura-san said. "I only count sixteen students- barely enough for a small class, let alone an entire school- and no teachers or staff. We are locked in here, but appear to be given free reign of this place. It is clear that either the school authorities are nowhere to be found, or worse, they are actively involved in this."

"Yes, this does seem odd," Sensei said. "In a prison, we would be locked in our cells except for exercise, work and other purposes. Our daily routine would be strictly regulated, and we would be under the constant supervision of prison guards. Our possessions would be confiscated, even our civilian clothes- I could potentially hang myself with my necktie, after all. That said, considering that whoever is responsible for our ending up here has not killed us, I suspect that they'd prefer that we stay alive, and thus take exception to any suicide attempts."

"Puhuhuhuhu! Yes, you're right about that, young lady! As headmaster of this school, I couldn't _bear_ it if my students took their own lives."

Upon hearing the voice, all of us stopped in our tracks, wondering which of us said it. I'd only met the headmistress of Talent High School, a stern yet polite middle-aged woman, on one occasion, but I could tell that whoever just said that didn't sound like her, or any of the other teenagers I'd just met. It sounded almost like a cartoon character.

Suddenly, near the back of the gymnasium, a bear leaped onto the podium. He was half black, half white, with the exception of a white stomach and belly button, and while the white half looked like an innocent teddy bear with a round, black, eye, the black half had a sinister smile and an ominous and jagged red eye. It was hard to tell from how far away he was, but he seemed to be quite small, probably not even half as tall as Sugiura-san, who was barely 140 cm tall herself. I glanced around, and saw that none of my classmates were expecting this, save Kagami-kun, who probably was good at hiding his surprise.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" the bear said. "I am Monokuma, and from this moment forward, I am your headmaster!"

"What's that?" Kurogane-kun said, "A robot?"

"I didn't know technology had advanced to the point where people could make robots like that," Iwasawa-san said. "Modern civilization must be further ahead of my village than I thought."

I disagreed. Robots of various sorts did exist and serve various roles in our society, but making one that could think, talk and act on its own accord like a human being was still firmly in the realm of science fiction- emphasis on fiction.

"No, it's probably a remote-control toy," Hoshino-kun said, "or maybe some animatronic like the kind that are at amusement parks."

"How rude!" Monokuma said. "My programming is so sophisticated, I no longer qualify as a toy! Show some respect to the head of your school!"

I still found it a bit hard to accept Monokuma's claims, but I couldn't really deny them. He'd understood Hoshino-kun's remark about him being a "toy" and responded accordingly, so it seemed as though he had intelligence and a personality. At the very least, if this was some elaborate setup or masterful hoax, I had no idea what was involved in it.

"I beg your pardon, sir," Mitamura-san said, "but you are not acting in a way that is becoming of a school's headmaster. All authority figures must project a dignified image, especially those whose duty is to teach children."

"Sheesh, tough crowd," Monokuma said. "I tell you, high school students get one look at me, and they totally write me off. Not that it matters, 'cuz you're stuck with me for the foreseeable future, unless one of you manages to graduate."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Fukuda-kun said. "I'm not the best student, but even I still pass all my classes."

"Me too," Sakuragi-kun said. "After all, my coach says that if I don't get at least OK grades, I can't' run for the team."

"You guys make it sound so easy," Yuuki-san said. "But hey, at least I haven't been held back yet, so I can probably get through high school, no problem!"

Monokuma let off a laugh of "Puhuhuhuhu!" that silenced the entire crowd. Given his questionable sense of humor, we had to wonder what was so funny.

"Oh, my sweet summer children, it's nothing so difficult or tedious," Monokuma said. "It's as simple as _killing one of your classmates and getting away with it!"_

Everyone froze in place upon hearing this. Considering the impression we got from Monokuma, we'd be tempted to assume it was a joke, but it was long past the point at which we could believe that. We'd woken up in a locked school with no adults or authority figures in sight. At best, we'd been kidnapped, and at worst, Monokuma was absolutely right- we were being forced to participate in a deadly game.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tezuka-kun said. "You want us to _kill_ each other?"

"What do you think he meant, genius?" Hoshino-kun said. "You were listening, weren't you?"

"We all were, Hoshino-kun," Akasaka-san said. "It's simply hard for us to accept that we're involved in something so awful."

"I agree, Akasaka-san," Sensei said. "As the daughter of a police detective, I know the authorities would never stand for this."

"But apparently, this is happening anyway," Mizuhara-kun said. "There must be something seriously wrong with the outside world."

"Still, how are we possibly supposed to get away with it?" Kagami-kun said. "That seems difficult given the number of surveillance cameras around, not to mention that we're all on our guard here."

"That's where the class trial comes into play," Monokuma said. "You don't just have to commit a murder without being seen. You have to do it without everyone else finding out you did it, or else..."

Monokuma let his words hang in the air ominously, raising the tension to the point at which you could cut it with a knife. At the last second, though, he shook his head.

"Forget it," Monokuma said. "I'm tired of explaining this Class Trial system to you bastards, so I'm gonna do what some teachers do and show you all an educational film strip instead."

Monokuma then started up a projector system, which projected an image against the back wall and began to play. He struck me as whimsical and immature, a bit like a little kid in a robotic bear body, but that unpredictability clearly made him more dangerous, not less.

The video began to play, which was little more than a series of images with an audio track by Monokuma. The average video blogger could probably have done a better job, but while others probably held that opinion, no one wanted to share it- we were all trying to figure out whether Monokuma was serious.

 _Hello, and welcome to Talent High School. Here are the rules of the Killing Game._

First, the video showed a boy in a gyakuran lying on the floor, bleeding from a knife stabbed into his heart. Another boy and two girls, the latter of whom wore jumpers over white blouses with red neck ribbons, stood nearby, each student looking exactly the same as the other of the same gender.

 _Once a murder is committed and three students apart from the culprit have discovered the body, there will be a short period of investigation, followed by a class trial._

To illustrate a class trial, the video showed three boys and girls, the same as the previous ones, standing in a circle in a makeshift courtroom.

 _After discussing the crime and determining who might be the killer, the students must correctly vote to decide "whodunnit," which will be decided by majority vote. If the culprit, or "blackened" is found guilty, they alone will be executed, while the innocent ,or "spotless" students will be spared._

The video then showed one of the girls hanging from a wooden ceiling beam, while the others watched. It was disturbing enough to imagine minors like us being executed, even for murder, but I suspected we had yet to hear the truly horrific part.

 _If, however, the wrong person is chosen, everyone besides the blackened will be executed, and they alone will go free._

The video then showed the one girl outside the school building,while the other two girls and three boys hung from a gallows in front of a school. The idea of us being executed en masse, our demises for everyone to see, was gruesome, but that wasn't the worst of it. The most frightening aspect of it all was that more than likely, almost all of us were going to die in the very near future.

It wasn't hard to see the sort of problems this rule would pose. If only one person could escape, then we would essentially be each other's enemies, with the blackened trying to hide their crime in order to survive at the expense of everyone else's lives, knowing that the spotless would just as ruthlessly sacrifice them for their own survival. The spotless students would only be united by self-interest, since any of them could be a time bomb waiting to go off, unsure of who to trust.

 _That's all. Good luck, and have fun!_

The video ended there, leaving us to silently stare at the projected blue screen. Teenagers like us had our lives ahead of us, and the Ultimates would likely have promising careers, even without Talent High School's blessing, so we had a hard time accepting that our lives could end so suddenly and so violently. Perhaps many young people our age lived with that fear every day, but we couldn't accept it- and didn't want to.

"That's about it for the important part," Monokuma said, popping up before us once again. "For the rest of the rules, please be certain to check out your handbooks on the table nearby. Make sure you pick up the one with _your_ name on it."

"What purpose does the handbook serve?" Sugiura-san said.

"It has all the information you need to know for your killing school life," Monokuma said, "such as a map of the school, the school rules and so forth. Keep in mind that if you break one of those rules, you'll get the same punishment as any blackened who gets voted as the culprit- _death_. Any further questions?"

No one said anything. At this point, it was clear that Monokuma was serious about the "killing game," and asking whether he'd let us go or whether any help was coming wouldn't do any good. That fact wasn't easy to accept, but no one saw any point in speaking out.

"Good," Monokuma said. "You seem like obedient boys and girls, since I haven't seen any of you try to break the rules yet this time. Of course, I'd expect that _that person_ knows what's what, since they're behind all this."

Gasps went up from some of the more excitable members of our group, and even the seemingly placid students were probably at least a bit shocked to hear this, as I was. Since most of us, with some notable exceptions, seemed to be getting along, it was difficult to accept that one of us was the malefactor responsible for our being trapped in this deadly "game."

"This time?" Yuuki-san said.

"All this?" Inoue-kun said.

"Maybe that's an exaggeration,'" Monokuma said, "but they helped set up this killing game. I've said too much, though- finding out their identity is up to you."

"And what would you have us do with that information?" Mitamura-san said.

"Why, kill them, of course," Monokuma said. "If the mastermind gets killed, you all are free to go. Pretty good deal, isn't it?"

"Not at all, Monokuma-san," Mitamura-san said, "since it serves to entice people to murder. I appreciate your answer, but we will find our own way out."

I was a bit surprised that Mitamura-san actually used "-san" on Monokuma. I respected authority figures and tried to be polite with most people, but there was nothing respectable about Monokuma, so I didn't think he was worth the effort.

"Good luck with that," Monokuma said. "On the table, you'll find the keys to your rooms and your student handbooks- the latter has everything you need to know for your killing school life. _Bear_ well for now, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Monokuma disappeared without another word. He'd done his job as ringleader behind this twisted game, and was confident that we'd start killing each other before long. I didn't want to believe any of us would fall for it- after all, who walks down the street, sizing up passers-by as potential murderers?

At the same time, though, it wasn't something I could easily deny. While most sane people wouldn't even consider plotting murdering a stranger, each of us had a reason to kill. Successfully committing murder and getting away with it would earn our freedom, while the longer we stayed here, the more likely we would be to die at someone else's hands, or at Monokuma's for failing to find the true culprit. With that in mind, even the nobler members of our group could potentially snap and kill someone given the right reason and a good opportunity, such as killing the mastermind, and Sensei was no exception.

The situation I'd found myself in seemed unreal, like it was out of a movie or video game, so a part of me had trouble accepting that it was happening. I knew that it was happening, though, and if Monokuma could be believed, it might just have happened before. Of course, everything else was of little importance compared to one truth- I could not afford any unnecessary doubts or distractions. We were now in a killing game, and even if we didn't want to "win" by Monokuma's rules, losing would mean death for everyone except one successful murderer.

As much as I didn't want to dwell on how this killing game would end, there was no denying it had begun, so I steeled my resolve as much as I could, and prepared to face my killing school life...

* * *

 _End of Prologue_

 _Students Remaining: 16_

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

This fic is my first foray into Danganronpa fan fiction, telling the story of another killing game at a different school. It takes place between the first and second games, at a similar school that is caught up in a similar killing game. There's a reason for this, one that will be revealed much later on. It's cross-posted at Archive of Our Own, but generally, most revisions will be made to this version.

You may notice that the school looks fairly similar to Hope's Peak, and that's largely intentional. While this fic is largely serious, it also pokes fun at certain elements of the Danganronpa franchise, and the layout of the school is one of them.

Getting a Danganronpa protagonist sequel/fanfic protagonist right without being too similar to previous games' protagonists is a tricky process. That said, I did strive to make Kaori somewhat different from previous main characters. Kaori is a kind person and tries to do right by most people, but is a bit slower to trust others or think of them as friends. Despite having a somewhat disappointing Ultimate talent(incidentally, it's based off of Kaori Senoo's mahjong skill in Saki, and the two characters have the same name and a similar uniform), and being a bit starstruck by the Ultimates in general and Sae in particular, she doesn't have that many self-esteem issues. She has a dream that won't come true, but she would have been content to live an ordinary life. Her backstory is also a bit less of a blank slate than some of the other main characters, as she has defined interests and certain events in her past that influenced her.

I also will eventually publish other characters' Free Time Events, and potentially, bonus modes and other side stories. Those side stories will contain spoilers for the main fic, so I recommend that you read it after getting caught up in this fic. Each fic will have various warnings for spoiler content- for example, "Chapter I Victim," "Chapter I Killer," "Mastermind's Identity", etc.- so you can tell what will spoil something you haven't read yet.

This chapter(lowercase and numbers refers to an installment of this fanfic, while uppercase and Roman numerals refers to a part of the story that encompasses Daily Life, a murder and a class trial), and much of the next two encompasses the somewhat boring but entirely necessary part in which the setting and characters are established. As such, while updates for this fic will be less frequent than my other works, given that each chapter is fairly long and will often involve a lot of important details, the first ones will come out relatively quickly, at least until the story gets to the first murder/class trial.

This fic's rating is T now, but it will go up to M once I get to the first execution.

Occasionally, there will be short omakes at the end of chapter, showing short stand-alone scenes.

Here's Kaori's profile. The other students' profiles will be included with their Free Time Event chapters, in the side stories. Each will feature their name, talent, birthday, likes and dislikes, and one non-talent related hobby.

 **Kaori Miura**

 **Talent:** Ultimate Beginner's Luck

 **Birthday:** February 14 (Aquarius)

 **Height** : 169 cm (5'6")

 **Likes:** Mystery novels.

 **Dislikes:** Monokuma

 **Hobby:** Reading, video games.


	2. Chapter I, Part 1

**Chapter I: Not Just A Game**

 _Daily Life_

 _Day 1_

We stood in eerie, uncomfortable silence as we came to grips with our new reality. There should have been no way that any society governed by the rule of law would allow sixteen high school students to be trapped in a place in which the only avenue of escape was to murder one another. A teenager being murdered was a tragedy, a teenager murdering another teenager was horrific, and sixteen students being forced into a deathmatch was unthinkable.

That said, there was hardly any point in wondering why this was happening- all that mattered was that it was happening. Not only did we not have any idea what was going on in the outside world right now, but we didn't even know much about this school. The only thing we could do for now was to educate ourselves about our situation as best as we could.

"We should retrieve our handbooks and review the information within," Mitamura-san said, "particularly the rules for this so-called 'killing game.'"

"Are you serious?" Hoshino-kun said. "You're actually going to trust the information that Monokuma provided?"

"Truthfully, I am hesitant to believe him. Still, if he is the closest thing we have to an authority figure, intends to execute rulebreakers and does not accept ignorance as an excuse, then it would be prudent to at least educate ourselves about the rules he made."

No one had any rebuttals to Mitamura-san's point, or any desire to test how seriously Monokuma would enforce his rules, so we gathered around the table in an orderly fashion, retrieving our handbooks and keys one at a time, and I followed suit.

The handbook was a tablet with a screen the size of a playing card. Apart from the power button, it seemed to be entirely controlled by a touch screen. Each of them had several applications on them- the school rules, a list of all our classmates, a map of the school (although only the first floor's map was available at the moment), and an entirely no-frills camera app. On the back, there was a small sticker with my name on it, and I also saw my name when it first started up.

Beneath each tablet, there lay a small key with a keychain that had our names and a crude picture on it, which looked like it wouldn't be out of place in a Famicom game. As a casual video gamer who particularly enjoyed adventure games, I wondered if Monokuma shared my hobby.

Around me, the other students were busy perusing their talents, save for Iwasawa-san, who barely seemed to understand which side was which. After _almost_ getting the hang of it, she decided to throw in the towel and ask for help.

"Is anyone else having trouble getting their tablet started?" Iwasawa-san said. "I... haven't used technology much."

"Very well," Mitamura-san said. "I will read the rules aloud, to ensure that everyone understands. Please save any questions you may have until I am finished."

Everyone quieted down and listened as Mitamura-san began reading.

"First, students must stay at the school for the rest of their lives, or until they graduate."

This was hardly surprising, even if it was a harsh reminder of what Monokuma had said. Mitamura-san was clearly just going over it for our benefit.

"Second, some areas will be off limits at night time, which lasts from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. There will be announcements at the start and end of night time."

After hearing about this, I looked around and saw the gym rules. Apparently, the gym would be one of those places.

"Third, apart from these restrictions, students may explore the school freely."

I wondered if Monokuma was taking a risk by giving us this small degree of freedom. That said, Monokuma presumably knew this school better than we did, and letting us explore it was likely part of his plan. There had to be some reason why he didn't do something like lock us in the gym, give us weapons, and tell us that the last survivor could leave.

"Fourth, students may not attack Headmaster Monokuma or destroy surveillance cameras."

Perhaps one of the few silver linings to this situation was that no one seemed impulsive enough to do either of those things. While Monokuma had a cuddly appearance of a cartoon bear, if he was a robot, he probably had more than a few weapons hidden away. It was also possible that there were many different identical copies.

"The next three rules are ones that Monokuma-san already explained, but for the sake of completeness, I will read them aloud. Fifth, if a student kills another student, they will become a blackened. Sixth, if the blackened is convicted at a class trial, decided by majority vote, they alone will be executed. Seventh, if the class fails to convict a blackened, everyone besides the blackened will be executed, and the blackened will graduate."

Those three rules didn't require any explanation, since they were what Monokuma had told us about. Of course, even apart from Mitamura-san's request that we save questions for later, I suppose most of us were hoping we'd never have to deal with a class trial.

"Eighth, the game will last until someone graduates, the mastermind is dead, or two survivors remain. Lastly, Headmaster Monokuma may add additional rules as he sees fit."

So Monokuma was in charge of the rules and held our lives in his paws, but no one- perhaps excluding this mastermind- had any sort of authority over him. This situation was most troubling, but I suppose that it was too much to expect him to follow democratic principles if he didn't respect the rule of law.

"That concludes my explanation of the rules," Mitamura-san said. "Do any of you have questions?"

"So he seriously expects us to kill each other to get out of here?" Mizuhara-kun said. "I honestly can't see myself getting behind that."

"Neither do most people," Kagami-kun said. "Honestly, though, I don't know any of you well enough to believe that you wouldn't kill someone. Face it- the only thing stopping us from killing is principle."

Everyone looked around warily. There was virtually no chance that anyone would be stupid enough to try something while everyone else was watching, but when we were alone, it would be another matter.

"Anyway, what's this about two survivors?" Sakuragi-kun said. "Wouldn't Monokuma make this to the last man- or woman- standing instead?"

"If you think about it, it makes a certain amount of sense," Kagami-kun said. "Suppose three people- A, B and C- are left, and A kills B. The class trial would consist of C accusing A, due to knowing that A is guilty, while A tries to pass the blame on C. It'd be impossible to come to a verdict in that case."

"Alternatively, B might have committed suicide," Sensei said. "Then, even if both A and C uncovered that truth, the only thing left would be for them to try to kill each other."

This was one endgame that I hoped would never happen. I knew that in life, games had winners and losers, but at least the runners-up were often honored for their efforts. The salutatorian at any given high school had almost as good of a chance of getting into a good university as the valedictorian did, and the second-best baseball player might not be able to get into Hope's Peak or Talent High School, but could probably achieve a lucrative professional career. The thought of standing alone as the last survivor was truly heartbreaking.

"Well, there is a silver lining," Hoshino-kun said. "If the mastermind's one of us, they'd probably be dead by then."

"And what if they aren't?" Akasaka-san said. "If someone commits a murder, and the victim isn't the mastermind, we'll have to execute the killer."

"I agree, Akasaka-san," Katsura-san said. "To play Devil's Advocate, though, if we killed that one person- who, as the one responsible for us being trapped in here, is hardly an innocent victim- the rest of us would go free."

"Yeah, and what if you're that person?" Tezuka-kun said. "The mastermind wants us to kill each other, so you'd be playing right into their hands!"

An argument broke out,with everyone talking over each other, not caring about listening to others, or even making themselves heard. Mitamura-san then loudly clapped her hands, causing everyone to turn to her.

"May I please have your attention?" Mitamura-san said. "I realize that you do not trust each other at this point, and you may not trust me, either, but I do not believe killing is necessarily inevitable. If we can search for a way out, it is possible that we all may escape from here, and if we have something to work towards, it will help us to cooperate."

The rest of us went quiet. Not all of us trusted Mitamura-san at this point, but no one seemed to have any argument. In that regard, at least, she'd succeeded in getting us to stop fighting for the moment.

"There is still much we do not know about the school," Mitamura-san said, "so it would be most prudent to explore the areas that are available to us and gather more information. There are sixteen of us, so we will split into four groups of four students each. Each group will focus on finding information on one subject, but anyone who notices anything that may be important should feel free to inform us about it, even if it is outside their assignment."

This was easy enough to understand. The school area we could explore didn't seem that large, so it wouldn't be that hard for each of our groups to explore the entire area.

"Group 1 will search for a way out. Miura-san, Edogawa-san, Kurogane-san and Sakuragi-san, your task will be difficult, but please do what you can."

I winced. While I was glad to be paired up with Sensei, I wondered if Mitamura-san had forgotten Kurogane-kun's obvious hostility toward me, or if she was using this as an opportunity to make it clear that we'd all have to work well together, even if we didn't necessarily get along. In either case, it was up to me to apologize.

"Group 2 will explore the school and try to find any ways to get into the areas that have been closed off. This task will fall to Yuuki-san, Kagami-san, Katsura-san and Tezuka-san."

Technically, Group 2's purpose would probably overlap with my group's in some ways, but it was good that Mitamura-san considered this an objective. We weren't likely to have much success, so I hoped Group 2 would fare better.

"Group 3 will inspect this floor for basic necessities- food, lodging, medicine and so forth. It will consist of Mizuhara-san, Sugiura-san, Hoshino-san and Iwasawa-san."

Possibly by coincidence, everyone except Hoshino-kun had a talent related to food in some way, whether fishing, harvesting crops and raising livestock, or serving up meals at restaurants. I wondered if Mitamura-san had this in mind when giving them this assignment, although it hardly mattered. Most of our talents were of little use in this killing game.

"Group 4 will look for any potential hazards and do whatever is possible to neutralize them. The members will be the four remaining people- myself, Akasaka-san, Inoue-san and Fukuda-san. Does anyone have any questions or concerns?"

No one spoke. I don't think any of us seriously held out much hope of finding an escape route, but getting a feel for our new environment was a goal that was important and obvious enough that no one felt the need to disagree.

"Good. Please find your groups. We will meet in the dining hall at around 7 PM- four hours from now. You are dismissed- please find your groups."

The group of sixteen students then divided into four groups of four, with each group's members trying to find each other. Eventually, I saw Sensei waving, and turned to see her with Kurogane-kun and Sakuragi-kun.

"So... who's in charge here?" Sakuragi-kun said, after a moment of awkward silence.

I shrugged. Kurogane-kun seemed like he couldn't stand taking orders from me, so I had no desire to volunteer, but I noticed that neither of the boys were doing so, either. Fortunately for us, Sensei stepped up.

"I will lead the way," Sensei said, "although this will largely consist of guiding the three of you to each room that we know about, and moving on after we are not able to find anything else. If you see something that is worth investigating, please tell me about it."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said. "Oh, and Kurogane-kun? I'm sorry... about before."

As I bowed in apology, Kurogane-kun shook his head dismissively, evidently not in the mood to accept my apology. Perhaps it was a bit much to expect him to forgive me now, or at least any time soon. Still, he, Sensei, Sakuragi-kun and I had been given a task, and while we had little chance of succeeding, we owed it to ourselves and the rest of the students here to work well together and do our best.

* * *

We walked down the hall and through the school, briefly glancing at the shuttered doorway on our right, and determining that we could not do anything to open it. Most of us had been through the main lobby already, so while we looked in all the areas, we didn't see much that was especially worth checking out.

"So, Kurogane-kun, Sakuragi-kun," I said. "Did either of you stop by the front door?"

"We did, and I tried pounding on it," Sakuragi-kun said. "I might mainly be a runner, but my arms are also pretty strong. Too bad hitting the door didn't do anything."

"Trying to force the door open is an exercise in futility," Sensei said. "At best, it does nothing, while at worst, we're at risk of damaging the door or making it inoperable. Any attempts to get it open should only focus on manipulating the control panel."

"Any luck with that?" I said.

"Unfortunately, no," Sensei said. "Earlier, I examined the console, and was told that is not operated with a password, but with an emergency release device that's a bit like a remote control. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to locate anything of the sort."

I was a bit tempted to suggest that we look under the sofa cushions, just like we would when looking for an actual remote control, but thought better of it. After all, all of us knew to keep our eyes out for it, and the mastermind wouldn't be so incompetent as to leave it where one of us could find it.

"Or else we wouldn't be here," Kurogane-kun said. "Let's keep moving, Edogawa."

Our first stop was the school store, which was opposite the main entrance. No one seemed to be running the store, but there was a capsule machine that seemed like it still worked. The machine wouldn't accept any of my money, asking for "Monocoins." School stores were hardly the best retail establishments, but one would think that this one would have a human being running the shop, rather than a capsule machine you could find at pretty much any drugstore.

We passed by the nurse's office, and saw Mizuhara-kun's group looking inside. The nurse's office seemed well-equipped, with a medicine cabinet, several drawers full of medical equipment, a bed and many other things. It had everything we needed to treat injuries... assuming it wasn't too late when we found the person who'd been hurt.

Afterward, we headed to the rec room, which was on the opposite end of the hall, around the corner from the classroom where I'd awakened. There was a variety of entertainment there- a dart board, a pool table, a small table for cards or board games, and even an arcade machine. While Sakuragi-kun suggested we could crawl into the air vents, Sensei pointed out that they were far too small for people to fit inside. As such, we didn't waste too much time in there, and left after confirming that there were no hidden passages that we could find.

Around the corner from the rec room, there was a red set of double doors that wouldn't open.

"You think this door might lead outside?" Sakuragi-kun said. "Because I _really_ hope it does."

"I doubt it," Kurogane-kun said. "It looks like an ordinary locked door, not the incredibly thick and secure door at the entrance."

"Where could this possibly lead?" I said. "An elevator?"

"Bingo!" Monokuma said, popping up out of nowhere. "You got it right on the first try!"

"M-Monokuma!" I said.

"Not so happy to see me, are you, Miura-san?" Monokuma said. "Well, I did just answer your question."

"Maybe you did," I said, "but I still have no idea where that elevator goes."

"You don't need to know just yet," Monokuma said, "since, as far as I know, all of you are still alive. If you want to know that badly, kill one of your classmates, and then we'll talk! Ciao!"

Monokuma vanished as quickly as he'd appeared.

"If I had to guess, I'd say this is related to the 'class trials' he mentioned," Sensei said. "I'd like to say that we'll never have to come here, but we should make note of this location."

"True," I said.

Sensei beckoned us to move on, and we followed her. We then walked past the classrooms, and down the hallway, which eventually took us to the dorms- out front, there was a large lobby. To our left was what looked like a dining hall, but since Group 3 was already there, we decided to investigate other places for now.

We walked down the hallway, and saw our rooms in a hallway that did two 90 degree turns, and led out to the other side of the large lobby. My room was the first on the right, identifiable by a crude portrait of myself and the name "Miura." When I put my key into the lock and turned it, the door opened.

"So this key works, after all," I said.

I checked the name plate, only to find it was securely fastened to the door.

"So you can't remove the name plate, can you?" I said.

"Not at all, Miura-san!" Monokuma said as he popped up out of nowhere once again. "A certain naughty and not too bright girl tried to play a trick with those, and we all know what happened to her."

"No, I actually don't," I said. "I have no idea which of us you're talking about."

"That's because I'm not talking about any of you, but I've said too much. Happy hunting!"

Monokuma vanished once again. I then proceeded into my room, while the other three went to investigate theirs- we all agreed to meet outside of mine in fifteen minutes.

I inspected my room, which was decently sized for one student. In the middle of the room was a bed, and there was a desk with a chair nearby. On the opposite side of the room, there was a small table and a few shelves, which were empty. Near the front of the room, I had a bathroom with a sink, a toilet, a cabinet and a shower.

I found a closet at the back of the room, and opened it up, hoping to find clothing in there. The closet had several copies of my uniform- a few blazers and button-down shirts were on hangers, while there were neatly folded skirts, neckties, socks and underwear on the top shelf.

Having investigated everything I needed to for the moment, I left my room. We met up outside my room once again.

"Looks like I've got a few changes of clothes," I said, "but the selection's a bit...lacking. I don't see any casual clothes, gym clothes, a bathrobe or pajamas."

"I hear you," Sakuragi-kun said. "I'm not the biggest fan of wearing a school uniform myself. Of course, part of the reason's because gym class is the only part of the day I like."

"I actually don't mind all that much," I said, "but I'd rather have something else to wear while exercising, at night, and on Sundays or holidays."

Given that most of us were wearing our uniforms and the rest were dressed for activities associated with their Ultimate talents, I had to wonder what the other would wear if they had the choice.

"So would I," Sensei said. "Perhaps we'll find something."

Proceeding onward and rounding the corner, we found everyone else's rooms, which were identified in a similar way. After rounding the second corner, we came to a trash room with an incinerator behind a locked shutter.

"So we're supposed to dispose of our trash here?" Kurogane-kun said.

"It would seem so," Sensei said. "Unfortunately, if the gate's locked, then it isn't possible."

"Maybe for you, it isn't," Monokuma said, as he appeared once again. "But not for the one with the keys. Mitamura-san asked nicely, so she gets the job."

"Sounds like she has a way with people," I said, "or robotic bears, in this case."

"You could say that," Monokuma said. "See you around!"

Monokuma left once again. I looked through the shutter, and saw the control panel for the incinerator, behind a glass cover. As long as the shutter was down, it wouldn't be possible to get in and use the incinerator- unlike in video games, it wasn't possible to throw something at a switch to activate it, even if someone could throw something so far and so precisely.

"It seems as though trash disposal is in Mitamura-san's capable hands," Sensei said. "To be honest, I was a little worried."

"That perverts might dig through your trash?" Sakuragi-kun said.

Sensei shook her head.

"That someone could use it to dispose of evidence," Sensei said. "Let's say Person A stabs Person B, who proceeds to bleed to death... all over Person A's clothing. Person A knows that when the others find out that the murder victim has been stabbed, they will look for a person with bloody clothes, so A's first priority is to change clothes and dispose of the bloody ones- their life is depending on it, after all."

"Oh," Sakuragi-kun said. "Right, I guess they would try to do something like that."

I couldn't fault Sakuragi-kun for not immediately thinking of the killing game. The idea that we couldn't necessarily trust our classmates not to murder us was a disturbing one.

After exiting the hallway, we found a laundry room, with a few washers and dryers, along with detergent, bleach and other laundry supplies. The machines seemed to be free to use- the washers took half an hour to finish washing a load of laundry, while the dryers ran for an hour.

The floor also had a locker room, which stood next to a bath and a sauna. Of course, since our rooms had showers, a bath was firmly in the "nice to have" category, rather than "the essentials." The main thing that stood out about that area, though, was that there didn't seem to be any security cameras.

After we confirmed that the room didn't have any additional exits, and were about to leave, Sakuragi-kun spoke.

"Something's been bothering me," Sakuragi-kun said. "Has anyone seen any elevators since we started looking?"

I shook my head

"None that I know of," I said, "apart from the one that's behind that locked door that Monokuma told us about."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sakuragi-kun said. "How're wheelchair users or people with super-heavy loads supposed to get upstairs?"

"They aren't," Sensei said, "and neither is anyone else. I haven't seen any normal stairways in the dorms or the school that aren't locked, so it would seem Monokuma wants to limit us to the ground floor, at least for now. As for the one Miura-san just mentioned, it would be almost impossible for a wheelchair user to open that door, even if it wasn't locked, so it clearly isn't meant for handicapped accessibility."

"Yeah, that seems about right," Sakuragi-kun said. "Of course, even with ramps and elevators, the world isn't really designed for people who can't walk. Heck, I'd go insane if I couldn't run anymore."

I had to admit that I was somewhat lucky in some regards, since my aspirations had less to do with my physical health. If, for example, I injured my leg in a car accident and needed a cane to walk, my quality of life would undeniably be affected, since I'd have less mobility and possible chronic pain, but I could learn to live with it. In Sakuragi-kun's case, his athletic career would essentially be over.

All of us had things we couldn't easily give up- possessions, people, hopes and dreams, and many other things- and those would become our reasons to kill someone in order to escape. While I would be determined to solve any crimes that were committed, I knew I couldn't judge the perpetrators too harshly. At the very least, I'd have to admit that I had a few things in common with them, and might have ended up making the same decisions.

* * *

After passing by the dining hall, we headed toward the warehouse in the dormitories. The warehouse had all sorts of items on its many shelves, but nothing that would help facilitate our escape. Shockingly enough, there weren't even any emergency exits to speak of, so we'd have no chance of survival if a fire broke out. Among my many unanswered questions at this point was how this school managed to avoid

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the last place we haven't looked," I said. "We're going in circles, so I'm running out of ideas."

"Are you sure?" Kurogane-kun said. "Unless I'm mistaken, this is your first time being trapped inside a school, so I was hoping you'd actually make yourself useful."

"I'm positive," I said, trying to ignore the obvious insult. "Like Sensei suggested earlier, it would seem Monokuma has been quite thorough in limiting us to this floor."

"Figures," Kurogane-kun said. "They should have made you the Ultimate Girl Who Makes Fools Out Of Others, since that's all you're good at."

"Enough, Kurogane-kun!" Sensei said, raising her voice for the first time since I'd met her. "We need to work together, and your passive-aggressive remarks about Miura-san are not helping!"

"Neither is she," Kurogane-kun said, then quickly glanced at the watch on his right hand. "It's almost time to meet up, so I'm going back to tell Mitamura we don't have anything."

Kurogane-kun stormed off. As soon as he was gone, Sensei turned back to me with a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you all right, Miura-san?" Sensei said.

"I am," I said, before bowing in gratitude. "Thank you for standing up for me, Sensei."

"You're welcome," Sensei said.

"Seriously, what's with that guy?" Sakuragi-kun said, "I thought none of us knew each other."

"Inoue-kun and I were classmates," Sensei said, "and when Kurogane-kun met Miura-san, he snidely implied that they'd met before."

I nodded.

"When I was being scouted, they had me test my Beginner's Luck," I said, "which consisted of facing Kurogane-kun in a shogi match to see if my skill was a match for his. I, a rank amateur, defeated him, a blow to his pride that he may never forgive."

"I know of people like him," Sensei said. "Many older aspiring authors resent me for succeeding where they failed- some because I'm a child, and some because I'm a girl."

It wasn't too hard to see why some adults were envious of children who'd achieved more in their youth than the adults would in their entire lives. That said, while jealousy was a natural emotion, there was nothing healthy about it. The reality was that Sensei was a much better author than I was, and rather than begrudge her for achieving what I couldn't, I could be happy for her, and enjoy her work, like millions of her other fans did.

"What a bunch of assholes," Sakuragi-kun said. "Sure, I'm a competitive guy, but I'm also competing against myself, always working to run faster and get better times, since it's only a matter of time before someone breaks my record. Those jackasses you're talking about clearly aren't cut out for being authors."

"The problem is that Kurogane-kun doesn't see me as a rival," I said. "I defeated him once, but because of the nature of my talent, I can't replicate that feat, and it will be a long time before I'm a worthy opponent to him."

Sakuragi-kun shrugged, unsure of what to say to that.

"I suppose I can understand where he's coming from," Sensei said, "but at the same time, our first priority is to get out of here, and as such, we cannot afford any conflicts between us. Perhaps it is too much to ask for you to be friends with him, but I would like you to do what you can to get along with him."

"I will," I said.

"Good," Sensei said. "I appreciate your maturity, Miura-san. At least one of you has the right attitude."

"Thank you, Sensei," I said. "Still, even if Kurogane-kun is angry, I don't want to believe that he'd be willing to murder me in revenge, given what's at stake."

"True," Sakuragi-kun. "But maybe he'll decide that if anyone's got to die, it might as well be you, y'know? He's probably stressed out over not being able to play shogi anymore."

"That's possible," Sensei said. "Still, Mitamura-san gave us a task to do, and for now, we should focus on it. Let's investigate the dorm area in more detail."

I nodded, then proceeded to the last places we hadn't investigated- the dining hall and kitchen, hoping that we'd be able to find some useful information there.

* * *

We headed to the dining hall and looked around. There was a long table that was wide enough for four people to sit side-by-side and two round ones that could seat about four people each. There were only sixteen chairs, which seemed fairly small for a school's dining hall. There was a glass window, and what looked like a garden. I couldn't tell how real it was, but it definitely looked like a fairly convincing imitation of a wooded outdoor area... for the inside of a school that was in the middle of a large city.

As Sensei and Sakuragi-kun investigated the dining hall, I went inside the kitchen, which was at the back. It had everything one could expect for cooking- a microwave, a stove and an oven- along with various other necessities, such as drawers, a knife rack, a sink and a cutting board. A large refrigerator sat in the back, with a freezer on top. The door was open, I saw Mizuhara-kun rummaging through it, with the other members of Group 3 nowhere to be found.

"...Good, not here, either," Mizuhara-kun muttered to himself.

"What are you up to, Mizuhara-kun?" I said.

"Oh, hi, Miura-san," Mizuhara-kun said. "I was just checking the fridge. What brings you here?"

"My group just finished with their task, and unsurprisingly, we don't have anything to report."

Mizuhara-kun let off a faint sigh of disappointment, but not surprise. I think everyone knew that my group had the least chance of success.

"Anyway, where's the rest of your group?" I said.

"Sugiura-san and the others are checking the laundry room," Mizuhara-kun said. "I was just looking in the fridge on a more personal errand."

"What do you mean"?

"I wanted to see if there's any foods that could possibly trigger allergic reactions. I saw some mlik, cheese and eggs- a friend of mine from my old school's lactose intolerant and my uncle can't eat eggs- but apart from that, I can't find anything."

"Good thinking. Of course, no one's admitted to having any allergies or special dietary needs just yet."

Mizuhara-kun frowned and shook his head.

"That's the problem," Mizuhara-kun said. "Because the goal of this killing game is to get us to murder each other, people are obviously hesitant to tell us their weaknesses. You can't very well expect someone to admit that they'd get sick or die just from something they ate."

I couldn't really argue with Mizuhara-kun. I'd only just met him, and knew little about him apart from his talent, so there was no reason for me to trust that he wasn't plotting against me, or vice versa. Still, he seemed like a nice guy, so even if my head told me to consider all possibilities, my heart found it hard to accept that someone I was talking with like this could be plotting murder.

Of course, it wasn't just for emotional reasons. Mitamura-san's first orders to us were asking us to put aside our distrust, fears and suspicions, and cooperate in order to learn more about our surroundings. It was a small step, but perhaps, it was one that would take us to a solution that would enable all of us to escape, something that could only be achieved if we all worked together.

I let the conversation drop, and looked around the kitchen with Mizuhara-kun. Trust was difficult to build, but as long as we had a common goal, we could work together, as long as everyone recognized that cooperation was both possible and necessary. Perhaps the other groups wouldn't find all that much useful information at this point, but I saw the significance of our respective jobs- our first group project as students- and hoped for success in this endeavor.

* * *

Sensei, Sakuragi-kun and I sat in the dining hall, waiting for the others to return. The rest of Group 3 was the first to come back, and around the same time, Mizuhara-kun emerged from the kitchen and sat down. Not long afterward, Kurogane-kun casually strolled in and sat down without a word, almost as if he was trying to pretend we'd never noticed- or maybe forgot- his departure. Group 2 was next, its search having been as fruitless as ours. Finally, Group 4 returned, and once everyone was seated, Mitamura-san commenced the meeting.

"Let us discuss what we have learned about this school," Mitamura-san said. "Group 1, please share your findings with the rest of the group."

"Unfortunately, Mitamura-san, we have little to report," Sensei said, "since the four of us were unable to find any exits apart from the front door. All the windows were barred, and whoever put us here was thorough about cutting off any escape routes, including emergency exits. Judging from our surroundings, we appear to be on the ground floor of Talent High School, which, for some reason, has been modified into what is essentially a prison."

"There's security cameras almost everywhere," I said, "which makes me wonder whether it's all right to talk about this."

"Monokuma-san did say we were free to explore the school as we wished," Mitamura-san said. "He is presumably quite confident that we will never find an escape route, a confidence that is well-founded. As such, he has no reason to be concerned about our discussion."

"But he might be wrong about this, right?" Sakuragi-kun said. "Maybe he overlooked something."

"That remains to be seen," Mitamura-san said. "Group 2, it is your turn- please tell us whether there are any routes to other parts of the school."

"To be honest, we didn't do any better than Edogawa's group," Tezuka-kun said. "We couldn't find jack shit in the stairs and elevator department- none that weren't locked, that is."

"What do you mean?" Mitamura-san said.

"I counted a few doors that we couldn't open," Kagami-kun said. "The first, obviously, is the door outside. The second is what looks like a set of stairs up to the second floor near the gymnasium, which was barred by a shutter. The third is a red set of double doors at the opposite end of the hall leading to the dormitory. The fourth is a locked door near the warehouse, which I assume leads up to the second floor of the dorms. The last two are a sealed floor panel and another shutter in the trash room."

"Then it is as I feared," Mitamura-san said. "Now that we are unable to leave the first floor, we must focus on living here. Group 3, please report. on necessities"

The four members looked at each other and nodded. Apparently, they'd actually found something.

"First, let's talk about food," Mizuhara-kun said. "We have a refrigerator and all sorts of different food in there. According to Monokuma, he automatically replenishes the supply. He told me, quote, 'It's no fun if all of you bastards starve to death, so I'll make sure you're well-fed... for now.' unquote."

"That sounds like Monokuma," I said.

That last bit about 'for now' sounded ominous, but it was good to hear that we wouldn't starve, even if we didn't know where our food was coming from. If nothing else, it fit with how while Monokuma wanted us to kill each other, he didn't want to directly cause us harm.

"I can cook if you want," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm not good with technology, but the stove and oven are a bit like the one back home."

"Please do," Mitamura-san said. "What about medicine and lodging?"

"I checked the nurse's office," Hoshino-kun said. "There's all sorts of medical supplies in there- not that many of us know how to use them."

"I looked inside my room," Iwasawa-san said. "It has a bed, a bathroom with a lock, changes of our current outfits and almost everything else one could need."

"Are you sure about the bathroom?" Hoshino-kun said. "Mine doesn't have a lock."

A few others, all of whom were boys, chimed in with "Me neither."

"I am, Mr. Hoshino," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Sugiura also told me that her bathroom has a lock."

Sugiura-san nodded.

"So does mine," I said.

"In other words, it's just the girls, then?" Hoshino-kun said. "That's not fair..."

I personally had to wonder why we'd need a lock on our bathrooms when we had one on our doors, as well as why the girls' rooms had them, but the guys' rooms didn't.

"I looked into other needs," Sugiura-san said. "There is a room where we can do laundry, and an incinerator for trash. We can find various necessities, such as clothing, tools and other things in the warehouse at the back."

"All of this is useful information," Mitamura-san said. "As for potential hazards, I, along with the rest of Group 4, was able to identify a few potential threats. The kitchen has knives that, despite having relatively short blades, can easily become murder weapons. The warehouse on this floor has various tool that can serve as blunt objects, edged weapons, or means to strangle someone, among others. The nurse's office may not have any poisons, but some of the medical supplies could be used to harm, rather than heal."

It was a bit of a chilling reminder that so many mundane items could be dangerous. Anything with a blade could potentially draw blood. Any long edged weapon could be thrust into someone's body, severing an artery or piercing a vital organ. Heavy objects could inflict blunt force trauma if swung with enough force. Ordinary household chemicals could be lethal if ingested. The list of possibilities I could think of was quite long, and I was sure my classmates also had enough imagination to think of many possible means of murder.

Now that all of us had given our reports, the discussion hit a lull until Mitamura-san decided to move it forward.

"From what we have discovered thus far, I believe I have good and bad news," Mitamura-san said. "The bad news is that there are no apparent ways of leaving or calling for help. The good news, however, is that all the essentials- food, water, shelter, breathable air, changes of clothing and so forth- appear to be provided. We may not be able to leave, but our needs are being met, so we should proceed calmly, gathering information and brainstorming plans."

"That sounds like a good idea, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa-san said.

"Yeah, but it's not like we can really do anything else," Hoshino-kun said.

"As such, I would like to serve as your leader," Mitamura-san said. "I will give you directions, organize meetings and mediate any potential disputes that may arise. If we are a class of students, then it would only seem fair to have a class representative, who will lead in absence of a teacher."

"And you think you're the person for the job?" Hoshino-kun said.

"I believe so," Mitamura-san said. "That said, if anyone else wishes to run against me, they may announce their candidacy, and we shall decide the winner through popular vote."

No one stepped forward, not even Hoshino-kun, who'd already proven to be Mitamura-san's most vocal critic, and seemed to be the person she had in mind when she asked for any other candidates. A part of me hoped Sensei would volunteer, as we could use a leader with her kindness and intelligence, but when I glanced at her, she gave no indication of wanting the job.

"Very well," Mitamura-san said. "This may only be a formality, but please raise your hand if you would like me to lead you."

Sensei was the first to raise her hand, and I quickly followed. By the end, most of the room had joined us, with only three exceptions. Kurogane-kun was hardly a surprise, since he seemed somewhat prickly with everyone, not just with me. Neither was Hoshino-kun, who'd previously been leery of having a class rep. That said, I had to admit that it was a surprise that the normally quiet and polite Sugiura-san refused to support Mitamura-san.

"Thank you, everyone," Mitamura-san said. "I will endeavor to lead you to the best of my ability."

We had dinner together, a short and somewhat ad-hoc affair consisting of us helping ourselves to the contents of the refrigerator, and making what passed for a balanced meal. After we were done, Mitamura-san looked at the clock.

"It is almost time for the 'night time announcement,' so we should adjourn this meeting soon," Mitamura-san said. "Before we do, however, I would like to establish some rules. The first is that at 10 p.m., all of us must return to our rooms and go to bed."

"Why that time?" Iwasawa-san said.

"It coincides with the night time announcement," Mitamura-san said. "Monokuma-san will announce it every night, so even those without watches or access to a clock can hear it, and know when to return to our rooms."

"I understand," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm just used to going to bed and getting up earlier."

The others gave Iwasawa-san strange looks, as if going to bed before 10 PM was unheard of. Mitamura-san, however, simply nodded, with a faint but approving smile.

"It also serves to ensure our safety," Mitamura-san said, "since as long as everyone is in their rooms, sleeping at that time, it is unlikely that anyone will wander around at night, and possibly come to harm. Furthermore, if we do spend that time sleeping, it will ensure that we are adequately rested."

I nodded. Our safety wasn't guaranteed during the day, either, but considering that few people would be around to witness any potential crimes at night time, it was significantly more dangerous.

"Second," Mitamura-san said, "I would like to meet for breakfast every day at 7 AM. This will get everyone together in the same room so we can discuss important matters, such as finding a way out, and allow us to confirm that everyone is safe."

That was reasonable enough. Without the ability to call or message our friends, getting everyone together was like herding cats. Besides, according to this schedule, once we took away getting into bed and getting ready in the morning, we'd have at least eight hours to sleep.

"Third," Mitamura-san said, "for the sake of discipline, I would like you all to observe the rules you might follow at school. This includes going to your appropriate gender's bathroom, refraining from running in the halls and wearing your uniforms properly _._ Very little is orderly in this school, but it is still a school, so we should treat it like one."

"The uniform part might be complicated," Fukuda-kun said. "I mean, we're all from different schools, so how do you know what's proper?"

"I have some idea," Mitamura-san said. "Miura-san can serve as a good example. Her shirt is completely buttoned up and tucked into her skirt. Her necktie is properly tied, with the knot at her collar. Her skirt is not too long or too short. She is wearing black socks with appropriate shoes. She has no visible tattoos, jewelry or makeup. She wears her uniform as it is meant to be worn, without anything that would be against the rules."

I smiled. Mitamura-san seemed like a person who didn't give much praise, so any time she did praise me, I felt like I'd earned it.

"Good for Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "As for me, I don't have anything resembling a typical uniform, so I hope you'll forgive me if I can't quite meet your standards."

"Then I will make a proposal," Mitamura-san said. "If you button up your shirt and keep both your overalls' straps hooked up, I will consider you properly dressed. Is this an acceptable deal, Iwasawa-san?"

"Yes, ma'am," Iwasawa-san said, as she obediently buttoned up her collar.

"Very good," Mitamura-san said. "As for anyone else who does not have a uniform, I simply ask that you keep your clothing clean and in presentable condition."

"Seriously, what's the point of it all?" Hoshino-kun said. "You said it yourself- this isn't really a school, is it?"

"Perhaps not, Hoshino-san," Mitamura-san said. "That said, I am not asking for your compliance because the rules demand it, but because it is beneficial for us in our situation. Monokuma-san has trapped us in a situation with very few restrictions on our behavior in the hopes that we will lose our reason as civilized humans and kill each other, so the solution is to keep up discipline and follow the same rules that apply to us in a normal school."

"Or else?" Hoshino-kun said. "What're you going to do to us? Make us write a letter of apology? Give us detention? Kill us?"

Mitamura-san sighed.

"I admit that I do not have much authority to issue punishments," Mitamura-san said. "That said, we are at an age in which we should be taking responsibility for ourselves, and in a situation with stakes far beyond anything we have ever known. All I can do is tell you what should be done, and trust that you understand the situation well enough to do it."

No one contested that assertion. Not all of us trusted Mitamura-san, but for now, none of her requests were unreasonable, overly difficult or anything that would facilitate committing murder. Perhaps if someone laid down some actual rules and everyone followed them, we might avoid any trouble.

For the rest of the evening, we tried to brainstorm ideas for how to get out. We came up with a variety of ideas- crawling through the air vents, hacking into the control panel for the front door, or detonating a makeshift bomb near a thin section of the wall- but none of them were especially viable. The meeting adjourned around 9:30 PM, once Mitamura-san realized that we were too tired to come up with anything useful.

* * *

After the meeting, I headed to the warehouse in order to look for the necessities. Apparently, Sensei had the same idea, since I found her there.

"Ah, Miura-san," Sensei said. "What brings you here?"

"I'm looking for some clothes," I said, "particularly something to wear in bed or while exercising."

"Then you're in luck, at least on the latter count. I happened to find a blue tracksuit that was my size. I can show you."

I searched around and found a blue tracksuit that matched Sensei's. We looked around for a few minutes and found various items we would need, such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap and a towel, among other things. Unfortunately, apart from the tracksuits, there didn't seem to be any clothing in the warehouse.

"It looks like there aren't any nightgowns or other pajamas in here," Sensei said. "I'm sorry, Miura-san."

"It's all right," I said. "I'll manage with this tracksuit. At least it's a change of clothes."

While the prospect of being stuck in this school for the foreseeable future was concerning, even terrifying, only having my uniform to wear didn't really bother me. Having worn my uniform for more than seven hours a day six days a week had a sense of comfortable familiarity, and on some days, I didn't take it off until it was time to change into my nightgown.

I then decided to ask Sensei something that had been bothering me ever since Mitamura-san gave everyone an opportunity to announce their candidacy for leadership.

"By the way, I was wondering about something, Sensei," I said. "Why didn't you seek leadership of the group? You're smart, level-headed and good at giving orders, so you'd have done a great job."

Sensei paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"I have a few reasons," Sensei said. "First, the addition of a rival leader candidate would create the risk of splitting us into factions. Second, Mitamura-san had already established herself as leader, and at least seems competent in the role, so I thought it would be best to support her. Third, I have little experience with actual leadership."

I didn't have any rebuttal to that. In the end, Sensei knew herself best, so if she had no faith in her ability to lead, then all I could do was trust her self-assessment, and accept her decision.

"Fair enough. I was just asking because I thought you'd be good at the job. I heard you're one of the top students at your old school."

"From what I heard, Mitamura-san has a similar, if not superior, reputation at hers. Apart from her grades, she was also highly involved in her student council and morals committee, so she has leadership experience. I spent most of my time outside of school writing, and don't know many people at my school, so I'm not the best person to lead fifteen people I've only just met."

"So it's like Inoue-kun said," I said. "He said you were pretty shy and didn't have many friends."

"He knows me surprisingly well for someone who never talked much with me," Sensei said, "but he isn't wrong about me. That said, it sounds as though you disagree with him."

"I'm just surprised. You seemed pretty comfortable talking with me and telling me all this, even if we're not really friends yet."

"I may not be as socially adept as you expected, but I do have means of coping. Good manners make people more willing to respond in kind, while joking around a little does often help ease any nervousness I might feel. When I told Katsura-san this, she smiled and said we were cut from the same cloth, so to speak. Neither of us have many friends- although she's somewhat better off than I am- but we're good at speaking with our acquaintances."

"You know, that isn't too different from what I do when dealing with people I don't know," I said. "I guess we have more in common than I thought."

"Indeed," Sensei said with a smile.

Suddenly, the monitor in the warehouse came to life. It displayed Monokuma, sitting in what looked like a recording studio for a radio show.

"It is now Night Time," Monokuma said. "At this time, certain areas of the school will be closed. Good night, and don't let the bed bugs bite."

The monitor switched off. I checked my watch, and noticed that it was already 10 PM. If nothing else, this proved that I had the right time.

"So it's that time already?" I said. "Looks like we've got to get back to our rooms to meet Mitamura-san's curfew."

"It seems so," Sensei said. "Good night, Miura-san- I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Good night, Sensei."

We parted ways for the night and went to our rooms. A part of me still knew that not everyone could be trusted, and it was a bit premature to call them friends, especially when anyone could become a murderer. Even knowing this, I wanted to trust and become closer with Sensei, a desire that she seemed to share.

* * *

I retired to my room for the evening and looked around once again. There weren't any personal touches, so it didn't really feel like home- only my picture and the nameplate proved that it was mine. Still, it was nice to have a quiet place with a lock on the door. As long as no one could pick the lock or knock the door off its hinges, I at least had a safe place to rest.

When I felt tired, I took off my uniform and changed into my sweatsuit before climbing into bed. While I knew this place was unsafe, I also knew I needed to rest and regain my energy, so sleep came surprisingly easily to me. Before I nodded off, I prayed to whatever higher powers willing to hear me that all sixteen of us, as well as the fragile alliance based on our common goal of escaping, would stay alive for as long as possible.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _It's really fun what you can do with other people's stuff when you say you "do not own" it._

 _I go to a fancy restaurant and chow down on the steak dinner at the next table? No problem, I don't own it!_

 _I "borrow" a few ideas from my friend's essay to submit to the teacher? I don't own it, either._

 _I take a CEO's private jet out for a little joy ride? I said I didn't own it, so what's wrong with that?_

 _Hell, one time, I dropped my axe in a spring, and a fairy popped out of the water with a gold one. I said "I don't own this," and she gave it to me for free, just like that!_

 _Try this phrase out some time!_

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews and follows. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the chapters, questions, criticism and theories about the story, so if you have any of those, please share them. I'm personally hoping for a greater reader turnout after the murders start.

I will include Monokuma Theater scenes every time Kaori goes to bed, except for the nights after class trials. You may notice a few recurring themes to them, some of which are related to fanfics, derivative works and originality.

Next up is the first Daily Life segment, where the characters will start getting fleshed out more.


	3. Chapter I, Part 2

_Day 2_

I woke up around 6:30 AM, hoping in vain that the previous day's events had all been just a dream, just like Monokuma talking to me in my sleep about "ownership" or some such had been. When I looked around, though, I knew I wasn't in my room at home, but my dorm room in the school. Something felt familiar about it, though, even if I couldn't put my finger on what.

I got dressed and combed my hair... or at least the strands that actually stayed down. I would have taken a shower and brushed my teeth, but no water came out- apparently, the water was turned off at night. As soon as I finished, I realized that Mitamura-san had a point- it did feel a bit like I was going to school. Whenever I didn't have a set schedule, I tended to become a bit slovenly and lazy, which was why my parents kept me busy during summer.

Once I finished, I had a few minutes left until breakfast, so I looked around my room, and found a bag on my desk that I hadn't seen the previous night. For a moment, I started to panic and wonder how any intruder could have gotten in, since I was positive I'd locked my door. Luckily, though, the door was locked- even if I'd somehow forgotten to lock it last night, the interloper couldn't have locked it again after leaving without my key.

The bag was half white, half black with a jagged red eye on the latter side- clearly Monokuma's colors- and contained a small box inside. The box was transparent and wrapped with shrink-wrapped plastic, and the only contents were a metal claw hammer that I could use with one hand, with a logo similar to the bag's design near the bottom of the handle. Since I'd never had any particular aptitude for tools, and there wasn't an Ultimate Carpenter among our number, it was clear that this had only one intended purpose- murder. There were probably more efficient ways to kill people, but a blow to the head with enough force would be fatal.

There was a note next to the package.

 _Here's a present to give you an edge in this battle royale._

 _Don't worry- no one knows that you have it except the two of us... and one other student._

 _Have fun!_

 _-Monokuma_

So Monokuma, having already given us a motive to commit murder, now was giving us the means, and leaving the opportunity up to us. The implication that "one other student" knew about my getting this was a bit confusing, though- it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine that he'd given similar gifts to everyone else, rather than arming me in the hope that I'd kill someone. Was this a ruse to sow the seeds of distrust, or was it something else entirely?

For now, though, I decided to head to the breakfast meeting, in hopes that everyone else would be able to help me sense of it all- assuming they showed up.

* * *

I got to the dining hall a bit early, and saw Iwasawa-san and Mitamura-san in the kitchen, working on breakfast. Iwasawa-san was cooking, while Mitamura-san was supervising her, possibly to make sure Iwasawa-san didn't poison anyone. The two girls seemed to have hit it off fairly well, but none of us were sure who we could trust.

A few minutes passed, and most of us were actually on time, save for Hoshino-kun, who said he was used to staying up late to do stargazing. Mitamura-san fixed each of the new arrivals with a scrutinizing gaze, carefully checking our appearances. She didn't find anything that would provoke her to scold us, but I could tell from her expression that she wished Yuuki-san had a longer skirt.

As soon as all of us were here and we'd started eating breakfast- eggs and bacon that Iwasawa-san made for us- Mitamura-san placed a plastic box, one that looked just like mine and had a screwdriver in it, on the table, and directed our attention toward it. I couldn't tell whether it had a logo on its handle, but it was clear that she'd gotten the same gift that I had.

"I found this box my room in the morning," Mitamura-san said. "It came with a note, saying that I was meant to use it as a murder weapon. I trust everyone else received something similar, did they not?"

I nodded. Mitamura-san hadn't mentioned the part about someone else knowing about it, but maybe her note had been different from mine.

"Yeah," Sakuragi-kun said, mildly surprised. "So you really did get one, huh?"

Something struck me as a bit odd about Sakuragi-kun's turn of phrase, but I didn't think to ask about it.

"Well, yeah, Reiko-chan just showed you hers," Yuuki-san said. "Still, I really thought I was the only one who got a weapon- mine's a razor blade."

Mitamura-san frowned disapprovingly, but didn't openly protest. It was clear that while she wasn't fond of Yuuki-san using her first name, she'd gotten used to it.

"It would be odd if only one- or even a few- of us received weapons," Katsura-san said. "If Monokuma's goal is to incite us to start killing each other, then it would make sense to arm everyone, and wait for someone to act."

"That is a reasonable theory, Katsura-san," Mitamura-san said. "Please raise your hand if you received a package of some sort from Monokuma-san."

Several people, myself included, raised their hands. While a few people hesitated, the rest of us eventually followed suit.

"It is as I thought. Please keep your hands raised if you have opened your box, and lower them if you have not."

One by one, everyone lowered their hands, and Tezuka-kun was the last to do so. I couldn't tell how honest they were, but Mitamura-san seemed relieved.

"Good. Keep your boxes in a safe place inside your rooms, and do not open them. Assuming none of you plan on committing a murder, you should have no reason to use these weapons."

"That might be true," Hoshino-kun said, "but what do you think we should do? Sit on our asses until Monokuma realizes we won't kill each other and lets us go?"

"I am not expecting something so unrealistic to happen," Mitamura-san said, "but all 'games' require the players to actually play. The choice of whether to participate in this one is up to us, and if all of us choose not to participate, no one will have to die."

"Like that'll happen," Hoshino-kun said. "Do you really think that _no one_ opened their boxes? Or that there aren't other places to get murder weapons? Hell, _you_ were the one who told us there was a crapload of dangerous stuff lying around when we met up last night."

Mitamura-san was speechless.

"So you can't answer that, huh?" Hoshino-kun said. "Or maybe you _don't want_ _to_. Not that it matters- I'm not expecting an honest answer. Unlike everyone else, I don't just put you on a pedestal or listen to everything you say. I didn't even vote for you, anyway."

Kurogane-kun nodded, silently concurring with Hoshino-kun.

"Neither did I, Hoshino-san," Sugiura-san said, "but that level of hostility is uncalled for."

"Is that all you have to say in Mitamura's defense, Sugiura?" Hoshino-kun said. "Do you really think our fearless leader is the only one who can find a way out of here? Or that she's better than any of us? I sure as hell don't."

"I _do_ , Mr. Hoshino," Iwasawa-san said. "Why else would Miss Mitamura take on the responsibility of leading us?"

"I can think of a few reasons why someone like her would go to all that trouble," Hoshino-kun said. "Maybe she's used to doing so to pad her resume for her college applications. Maybe she wants her mommy and daddy to be proud of her. Or maybe she wants to pull the wool over our eyes so that no one'll suspect her when she commits murder. In my experience, goody-two-shoes like her are almost always selfish at heart- they just try harder than most to convince people otherwise."

None of us knew what to say to that, least of all Mitamura-san, whose stoic facade began to crack. Her stern and composed expression was gone, and her face was that of a person who desperately wanted to speak but couldn't find the words. Within a minute or so, Hoshino-kun quickly finished eating and got up.

"Anyway, I'm done," Hoshino-kun said. "I showed up like you asked, but I don't have to stay. Sugiura, wash my plate."

Hoshino-kun quickly turned around and walked out of the room, leaving his plate at his seat. Iwasawa-san then stood up and called after him.

"Mr. Hoshino, wait!" Iwasawa-san said. "Come back and apologize to Miss Mitamura!"

"Please lower your voice, Iwasawa-san," Mitamura-san said. "Hoshino-san is clearly in no mood to talk, much less apologize."

"I'm sorry," Iwasawa-san said, doing a quick and somewhat clumsy bow of apology. "I'm just angry that he said all that about you without offering anything constructive."

"I don't think what he said is wrong," I said. "I mean, it's entirely up to us to act in a trustworthy manner, and nothing Mitamura-san can do can make us do that."

"A fair assertion, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "Of course, I am not asking for your obedience, merely your trust."

"Still," Sensei said, "while I think you're the best person to lead us, I don't think you should be the only one trying to find a way out. Hoshino-kun's points are not entirely without merit, but I think he should do what he can contribute to the effort."

Mitamura-san nodded.

"Everyone, I have a request for you," Mitamura-san said. "Please resume your investigations from last night and see what you can uncover about this school. If you have an idea, please bring it to the breakfast meeting. If you have something truly important, please tell as many people as possible. The meeting is adjourned, and I wish you the best of luck."

Everyone rose and split up. Four groups had found relatively little, but perhaps sixteen students(assuming, of course, that Hoshino-kun actually pitched in) working separately for a common goal, would find new information, perhaps getting us one step closer to escaping this hellish school and finding safety outside.

* * *

As I walked through the dorms, I found Hoshino-kun near the warehouse, staring at his feet and muttering to himself.

"...stuck-up, two-faced little bi..."

"Were you talking to me, Hoshino-kun?" I said.

Hoshino-kun looked up, mortified at being interrupted, and perhaps relieved that I'd come to talk, rather than to murder him.

"Oh, Miura," he said. "Not really, just mumbling to myself, that's all."

"I see. You sound like you don't really approve of Mitamura-san being our leader."

He gave me a withering look that seemed to say "No shit, Sherlock," but calmed down and shook his head.

"It's just common sense," Hoshino-kun said. "In a situation where any of us could commit murder and only one person gets to graduate, do you trust a single individual to call all the shots?"

I shook my head.

"To be honest, no," I said. "At the same time, I don't think Mitamura-san necessarily intends to serve as that sort of leader. She doesn't have any actual authority, so she can't do anything to us if we step out of line. She does, however, try to offer us guidance now that we don't have anyone to depend on. We're all still kids, so a serious, responsible and mature girl is probably the next best thing after a parent or teacher."

A lot of kids chafed under the restrictions adult authorities put on them, and I was no different. That said, I knew that I also appreciated their guidance, and a part of me wished that one of our teachers had been trapped in here with us.

"That's the problem," Hoshino-kun said. "If we're all depending on her to do our thinking for us, then there's no telling where she'll lead us. She isn't any better or more trustworthy than anyone else, as much as all of us, especially her, would like to pretend otherwise. Honestly, all those goody-two-shoes honor students like her aren't all that useful in civilized society, let alone here."

Hoshino-kun had a good point, albeit one I wished he'd made more diplomatically at breakfast- not that he was all that diplomatic now.

"I suppose you're right, Hoshino-kun," I said, "which is why I've been trying to contribute where I can, and solve the mystery of why we're here. I know you don't completely trust Mitamura-san, but I think it would be best if you could at least try to get along with her."

"Get along, huh?" Hoshino-kun said. "Like you 'get along' with Kurogane?"

"I try to," I said without missing a beat. "We may not be on speaking terms, but I do try to have at least passably good relationships with most people, even the... difficult ones. After all, I'm talking with you now, aren't I?"

For a moment, I wondered if I'd gone too far, since speaking with someone as blunt as Hoshino-kun caused me to be less guarded about what I said than I usually was. Hoshino-kun, however, simply chuckled.

"Touche, Miura," Hoshino-kun said. "I'll think about what you just said, but won't make any promises- except that I won't lie about how I feel."

"I won't ask you to do that, Hoshino-kun," I said. "Anyway, after you left, Mitamura-san asked us to continue looking around the school to find a way out."

"I plan on doing that," Hoshino-kun said, "without her orders or her permission. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Hoshino-kun walked off, clearly no longer interested in talking with me. While his abrasive and uncooperative nature was a concern, it was good that even those of us who didn't get along still shared the same goal.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Hoshino-kun, I found Fukuda-kun browsing the warehouse. Apparently, neither of the boys had acknowledged each other's presence when Fukuda-kun had passed Hoshino-kun on the way to the warehouse.

"...not here, either?" Fukuda-kun muttered to himself.

"Are you looking for something, Fukuda-kun?" I said. "I might be able to help."

"Oh, hey, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "I don't suppose you've seen a set of dumbbells or something like it around here?"

I shook my head. I hadn't specifically been looking for them last night, but I was fairly sure I would have remembered seeing them if any were there.

"I don't really work out, so no. I think Mitamura-san or the others from Team 4 would have said something if someone had seen one- you could potentially use a dumbbell as a blunt weapon."

"Relax, I'm not going to bash anyone's head in. I haven't given up on escaping, but I know I'll probably be here for a while, so I don't want to get out of shape."

"Oh, I get it. Like I said, the only exercise I get outside of gym class is going for walks on my days off, so I hadn't thought about strength training."

For most people our age, "out of shape" meant being completely out of breath by the end of a run in gym class, but the Ultimates with physical talents probably had far higher standards.

"Something on your mind?" Fukuda-kun said.

"I was just thinking," I said. "It's impressive that you're talented in rock clmbing, but you won't be able to do it forever, will you?"

Fukuda-kun nodded solemnly.

"We all have to retire someday- assuming we live that long, of course. But yeah, I do know that I'll eventually be past my prime, and have to do something else with my life. Too bad I'm kind of short on options, since my grades aren't so hot."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Fukuda-kun shook his head. It was a harsh but inevitable truth, but perhaps _because_ it was inevitable, Fukuda-kun had apparently come to terms with it.

"Don't be. I'm grateful I can do what I love really well, even if I can't do it my entire life. That's why a part of me can't accept that I'll be stuck here forever."

I nodded.

"I know. My talent might not be anything impressive, and while I enjoy writing, I know I'm not nearly as good as Sensei, so doing that for a living's out of the question. But even though my life will probably turn out to be quite ordinary and mediocre, I still want it back, so I understand that you're not content to stay here."

"Gotcha. Well, let's do our best at escaping, then."

Fukuda-kun and I talked about where we'd explored so far, including the possibility that he could use his skills to climb up to some vent somewhere and escape. We didn't come up with any usable ideas, but it felt like we had something to focus our efforts on now, so it wasn't a waste of time.

* * *

Around noon, I headed to the dining hall for lunch, at which point I saw Kagami-kun and Katsura-san standing and talking.

"Perfect timing, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "I'd like your input on something."

"Certainly, Katsura-san," I said. "What can I help you with?"

"I was planning on making a sales pitch to Monokuma," Katsura-san said. "The crux of my argument is this- all of us are promising young students who will undoubtedly achieve great things in our respective fields, so keeping us in here would be detrimental to the world. I was planning on making an argument detailing everything we could potentially offer society, so I was hoping you could share more about your talent."

As I was pondering how best to politely explain to Katsura-san that my talent wasn't good for any kind of career, Kagami-kun shook his head.

"That's no good," Kagami-kun said.

"Why not?" Katsura-san said. "Am I perhaps overselling us?"

"Kind of," I said. "The way my talent works, I can't see myself having a much more prosperous career than most people."

"That's not what I meant," Kagami-kun said. "Monokuma strikes me as the sort who wouldn't be moved by such an argument. In fact, he'd be even more determined not to let us go if he knew how valuable students with Ultimate talents were."

"Then perhaps we should appeal to his sense of practicality," Katsura-san said. "If we cannot use our talents for the sake of society, then we can offer to use them for his sake. Perhaps he will see that we have more use as employees than as hostages."

"Again, I doubt that would work," Kagami-kun said. "As far as we know, he isn't asking for ransom or anything like that, but seems to be motivated by some inscrutable kind of malice. Like the saying goes, some men- or, in this case, robotic... bear things- just want to watch the world burn."

"You have a point, Kagami-kun," I said. "Still, he hasn't killed us yet, so he'd probably prefer that we stay alive- at least until we kill each other."

"Sounds like a reasonable guess," Kagami-kun said. "Looking at the rules, I notice that while he does prohibit various actions, it's most likely that the rules are merely a deterrent, and he'd rather that we follow them."

"That makes sense," I said, "although it seems it doesn't apply to the killing."

"True. I think that he's hoping that the threat of being executed if we're found out will force us to step up our game. We'll have to be careful if anyone commits a murder- our lives are on the line, just like theirs are."

Kagami-kun sounded awfully casual about this, but he wasn't completely wrong to think of this 'killing game' that way. Like all games, it had its rules that needed to be followed, as well as stakes- our lives.

"It does seem odd, though," Katsura-san said. "None of us here have talents that are especially useful for fighting or killing. That's why I'm here, trying to somehow use my talent for selling people on ideas to try to convince Monokuma to let us go."

I'd always thought the Ultimates were in a league of their own, one that a pseudo-Ultimate like me, or my friends with no talents at all, could never hope to reach. Of course, while most of them could make successful careers out of their talents, most of them were just as out of their depth as I was in this killing game. Ironically, Kagami-kun, who didn't remember his talent, seemed to have the best mindset for a situation like this.

"And, of course, there's those of us with no talents at all," Kagami-kun said, almost as if he was reading my mind.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Katsura-san said.

"Don't be," Kagami-kun said. "We're all in the same boat here, so even if I can't remember my talent, I still think of myself as part of this group."

"So do I," I said. "Maybe I'm not a 'real' Ultimate, but I'm trapped in here with all of you, so I'll do what I can to escape."

"Glad to hear that," Kagami-kun said. "We'll succeed together or die alone, so I hope everyone else understands this."

Kagami-kun then excused himself and left me alone with Katsura-san. We stood there in silence for a moment, since Katsura-san wasn't very good at leading a conversation. Finally, she spoke, with something clearly on her mind.

"By the way, Miura-san, I have a question, from one girl to another," Katsura-san said. "Have you found any extra pairs of shoes in here?"

"I'm sorry, Katsura-san, but I haven't," I said. "I went to the warehouse and found a tracksuit that I can wear while exercising, but didn't see any shoes."

"I see- that's certainly disappointing," Katsura-san said. "I was hoping to find something that would be better suited for running than my dress shoes, both for exercising and situations in which I have to flee or chase after someone."

I looked down and saw that Katsura-san had shoes like mine- flat-soled dress shoes. They weren't terrible, but they weren't my first choice for exercise or any situation in which they could get dirty.

"So was I," I said. "I like these shoes, but there's a reason I have different shoes in gym class, as well as a pair of tennis shoes I wear on holidays and Sundays."

"Naturally," Katsura-san said. "I also have a few pairs for various occasions, and I'm lucky I didn't end up with my high heels."

"I know," I said. "Do you often have to dress up?"

Katsura-san nodded.

"I do," Katsura-san said. "A neat and professional appearance is not merely a superficial concern, but a sign of good habits with dress, grooming and hygiene. First impressions are important, and if someone cannot make the effort to put their best foot forward, then the person they are meeting can be forgiven for thinking they are careless about more important matters. That's why a part of me agrees Mitamura-san's rules about personal appearance, and her belief that it's a sign of good discipline."

All this sounded quite like Katsura-san. She seemed fairly polite at first glance, and if Sensei was right, she was also concerned about how she came off to others. Maybe that was why she had trouble with unstructured and purposeless small talk, since she still felt the need to be conscious off how others perceived her.

"That makes sense," I said. "But what do you mean by 'a part'?"

"I also believe that it's most important to dress _appropriately_ ," Katsura-san said. "I wear my suit while on business, my uniform to school, and casual clothes in my spare time. I'm not against the idea of school uniforms, but maybe schools could achieve something similar by setting standards for student appearance, and leaving it up to students to dress themselves."

I thought about what Edogawa-san had said. Like her, Katsura-san had facets of herself that she didn't show to others, but I noticed that Edogawa-san seemed to have opened up more to me. I was still a relative stranger, but if we could talk like this, then cooperation was possible.

We soon changed the subject, and tossed around some theories about the school, from it being an elaborate virtual reality simulation to the set of a reality TV show. None of us had the answers by ourselves, but perhaps, by combining our skills and our strengths, we could find a way out of this school.

* * *

A little while after dinner, I saw Sakuragi-kun running in the gym. After finishing a lap and checking his time with his watch's stopwatch function, he noticed me.

"Evening, Miura," Sakuragi-kun said. "Why're you here?"

"Good evening, Sakuragi-kun," I said. "I just wanted to take another look around the gym."

"Gotcha," Sakuragi-kun said. "For a big-name high school, this gym sure sucks. Not only can we not get to the track outside, but there aren't even any weights, cardio equipment, showers or lockers. Hell, if I want to get changed, I have to go all the way back to my room."

"It isn't that far, is it?" I said.

"Not really," Sakuragi-kun said. "Only a couple minutes- much less if I run. Point is, though, it's common sense to put everything where the guys who do sports need it, right?"

I nodded.

"I suppose so," I said. "I'm not much of an athlete, but the locker rooms were next to the gym at my old school, and they also had showers. Was it like that at your old school, too?"

"Yeah," Sakuragi-kun said. "We had a really good athletics department, not just running. One guy a few years ago was named Ultimate Soccer Player at Talent High School, and there's this multi-sport athlete my age- I think her name started with an A- who became Hope's Peak's Ultimate Swimmer."

"Sounds impressive," I said. "Do you miss that place?"

Sakuragi-kun nodded.

"I'm gonna be honest," Sakuragi-kun said. "This school has everything you need to survive, but a life in here isn't really life, you know? I almost wish I never was chosen Ultimate Sprinter, so I didn't end up in this place."

"Almost?" I said. "None of us want to be here."

"Yeah, I sure don't," Sakuragi-kun said. "But to me, being an athlete's about working hard to better yourself. When they called me the best, I knew it was only the beginning, and promised my coach, my teammates and myself that I'd keep pushing myself further. Even after I got accepted to Talent High School, I knew everyone from my hometown and old school would be watching me and cheering me on."

I nodded approvingly, even as I wondered how a school that recruited one talented student from every discipline could possibly field a sports team. The Ultimate Baseball Star played on a team at his old school, while the Ultimate Pop Sensation was the lead singer in her idol group, proving that even Ultimates couldn't go it alone- even Sensei and the Ultimate Writing Prodigy worked with editors and publishers.

"That's nice of them," I said. "My parents, my sister, and some of my friends from my old school are doing something similar for me."

"Good to hear it," Sakuragi-kun said, "but now that I'm trapped in here, I don't have much space to run. I've got the fifteen of you, but no one to compete with me, watch me run, or even set my times. How am I supposed to do what I do best in this situation?"

I shrugged and shook my head.

"I honestly don't know," I said. "Maybe it's because I'm not 'the best' at anything, but I don't have any experience in maintaining a reputation as an Ultimate."

"Maybe not," Sakuragi-kun, "but that doesn't mean that you'll never be the best. Maybe you'll set some record after getting out of here."

"I'll do what I can," I said, before letting Sakuragi-kun get back to his running, and then resuming my investigation.

I continued looking around the school until shortly before the night time announcement, then returned to my room to take a shower before going to bed. Since escape was only something we could dream of at this point, our first priority would be to become accustomed to this school, and accept the fact that we would likely be here for a very long time.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Let's be honest. It's hard to churn out sequels and new seasons without falling back on old material._

 _Viewers are smart cookies, or maybe they're just paranoid. They'll catch everything that looks familiar, from you putting the Ultimate Detective in twice, to you making the first murder a stabbing._

 _You've got three paths ahead of you. The first is to try harder to fool the viewers. Then again, any solution that mainly involves doing what you do better isn't such a great choice._

 _The second is to make your series so that you can write anything you want- follow up your action film with a romantic comedy sequel, then maybe lead into a horror flick next. The only problem is that if you can manage this, you'd probably be the very first to do it._

 _The third, which I recommend, is to recycle, and make no apologies for it. Your fans will notice, but why do they coming back if not for more of the same?_

 _So don't be afraid to do the same thing over and over! After all, you know it worked the first time, didn't it?_

* * *

 _Day 3_

Before breakfast, I found Tezuka-kun alone in the dining hall. He was sitting in a chair and drawing in a sketchbook with a pencil. From what I could tell, he was drawing some plants..

"Oh, hey, Miura," Tezuka-kun said.

"Good morning, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Might you be working on your next piece of art?"

"Not quite," Tezuka-kun said. "I mean, it looks like I'm drawing, but most of my serious work involves a lot more time, effort and paint than this. I've gotta make sure I don't lose my touch, even in a situation like this."

"Still, that looks pretty good," I said, "or at least a lot better than anything I could do."

"Thanks," Tezuka-kun said. "Who knows?" I might make this into a painting, with everything mirrored and in negative colors, while one person's standing in it, drawn normally."

I nodded. Now that I thought about it, this seemed a bit normal for Tezuka-kun's work, if there even was a "normal" for him.

"So, Tezuka-kun, I have a question, if you don't mind my asking," I said. "Are you at all worried about no longer being able to practice your talent?"

"Not really," Tezuka-kun said. "I mean, I like showing my stuff to other people, but I don't need to. Hell, I could get a day job if I needed the money,, although it'd leave less time to work on my art."

"It's good that you have that perspective."

"Thanks. I still want to get out of here, though. Art supplies and sources of inspiration are easier to find in the outside world, and there's a significantly lower chance of someone killing me. Then again, you know what they say about dead artists..."

"Yes, I do," I said, before fully realizing what it meant.

It was good to hear that Tezuka-kun at least _seemed_ calm about this, even if it was a bit unnerving to hear him casually joke about his own death- a prospect I had to consider, but would never take lightly.

The rest of the students came in, and the breakfast meeting commenced. Nobody had anything much to report, but at least Hoshino-kun kept his mouth shut this time when he wasn't taking bites of his food. Still, for now, I was happy that the sixteen of us, while far from a functional group, were all still alive and present for breakfast, something I hoped would last for as long as possible.

* * *

In the middle of the morning, I found Yuuki-san pacing around the rec room. Since she seemed like one of the more physically fit students, I suspected she wasn't taking being cooped up here any better than Sakuragi-kun was

"Hey, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "I've got a tech question for you."

"Go ahead, Yuuki-san," I said.

"How do you store more than one picture on this thing?" Yuuki-san said, holding up her student handbook. "I tried taking a selfie, then wanted to do photos of everyone else, but it says I'll have to delete the old picture first."

"Unfortunately, that's how it seems to work. This notepad only holds one photo at a time, and doesn't even have basic photo editing software."

"What? That sucks! A single picture shouldn't take up that much data! Even my cheap cell phone has more features than that!"

"So does mine. Unfortunately, someone confiscated it between when we arrived and when we awakened."

"Yeah. Can't have us calling the police, can they?"

I nodded. It was possible that the police were in on this, but for now, the fact that Monokuma was trying to keep this secret was an indicator that what was happening was not legal.

"Anyway, Kaori-chan, did they do anything weird to your watch?" Yuuki-san said.

"Not that I know of," I said as I took out my watch. "It was set to the correct time, or at least it matches the clocks in here."

"So does mine," Yuuki-san said as she took out hers.

Yuuki-san had a digital watch with a pink and somewhat girly design, unlike my watch, which was a standard analog watch. Mine wasn't particularly expensive, and my parents had mainly bought it so I'd have a more "grown-up" watch to replace my old one, which also happened to be falling apart.

"Of course, I noticed something funny," Yuuki-san said. "My watch was the right time, but the date was totally off- it says it's been over two years since I first arrived at this school. Maybe someone changed it while I was unconscious?"

"Or maybe you've been out for that long," I said. "Both are somewhat troubling prospects, though."

"Yeah," Yuuki-san said. "I've been thrown out of whack ever since I got here, since I've been stuck indoors and can't see the sky. Momo-chan told me she feels the same way."

"Because she's used to working outdoors?" I said.

"That's right," Yuuki-san said. "She's gets up when the sun comes up, goes to bed earlier than most of us, and works in the fields from when school lets out until the sun goes down. Of course, a lot of it also depends on the season, too- being indoors 24/7 isn't just messing with her body clock, but her body calendar, if something like that exists."

I, too, knew that the calendar often influenced my life. In the spring, one year ended and another year began, as the cherry blossoms bloomed. In the summer, as temperatures rose, I put my blazers and long-sleeve shirts in the closet in exchange for the short-sleeved shirt and vest that I wore with the summer uniform, then put my uniform away for summer vacation. In the fall, I once again switched back to the winter uniform, as the leaves fell and we prepared for our school festival. In the winter, I wore an overcoat over my blazer, and tied a scarf around my neck in addition to my necktie. Even as I'd gotten older, and gone from elementary school to middle school to high school, this routine had remained the same, year in, year out.

In this school, everything was different. The temperature was standard for an air-conditioned building, and the lights remained on all day, even at night. Each day was the same old thing, and while we didn't have to deal with any tests, we also didn't have any Sundays or days off to look forward to. Our dull ordinary routine would continue until someone snapped and committed murder, and while we wanted to uphold that status quo, we couldn't call it good.

"It probably does," I said. "Being trapped in an unfamiliar environment and forced into a very different routine is hard for all of us, not just Iwasawa-san, which is why Mitamura-san is trying to maintain some semblance of discipline."

"Yeah," Yuuki-san said. "We need someone who's smart, level-headed and knows what to do to hold us together, and if there aren't any teachers or coaches around, someone like Reiko-chan'll have to do. I sure as heck don't have the brains for something like that."

I nodded in agreement, hoping that it wasn't with the last part.

"Just between us, though, I think Reiko-chan could stand to lighten up a bit," Yuuki-san said. "She's trying to be the mom of our group, but when it comes to manners and grammar, she's more like a mother-in-law. That's why I'm asking you for help, after all."

I giggled.

"Well, feel free," I said. "I also want to help however I can."

Yuuki-san and I played around with our handbooks for a bit, and commiserated about how bare-bones such a supposedly advanced piece of technology was.

* * *

Shortly before lunch, I saw Mitamura-san talking with Iwasawa-san in the dining room.

"...so depending on where I touch the screen, it might scroll down, open a new file, or do other such things?" Iwasawa-san said.

"That is correct," Mitamura-san said. "In practice, it is not too different from using a mouse. Have you ever done so before?"

"If you're not talking about the things my cat catches, then no," Iwasawa-san said.

Mitamura-san sighed.

"Then perhaps I should start from square one," Mitamura-san said. "We should begin with teaching you about tapping the screen."

At that point, Mitamura-san noticed me.

"Good afternoon, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "Do you need assistance with something?"

"Not at all," I said. "I'm just passing through. What are the two of you up to?"

Mitamura-san furrowed her brow a bit at my casual phrasing, or perhaps ending a sentence with a preposition, but didn't say anything.

"I was just helping Iwasawa-san get used to her student handbook," Mitamura-san said. "It seems she does not have much familiarity with technology."

"That's true," Iwasawa-san said. "We had a TV, but if you want to change it, you point the remote at it and hit the buttons. If this touch-screen thing is all the rage, why don't TVs have it?"

I sighed.

"I don't really know the tech," I said, "but I can tell that most avid TV watchers don't like to have to get up from their couch."

"Oh, I see," Iwasawa-san said.

"Miura-san is right," Mitamura-san said. "As for this device, having the screen serve all your needs means that it does not have to have additional buttons. Simply continue to practice it and you will get used to it in time- if you want, I can give you feedback. Do you understand, Iwasawa-san?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Iwasawa-san said.

In the next few minutes, Iwasawa-san made some good progress using the touch screen, then politely asked to practice alone, at which point Mitamura-san and I excused ourselves.

"The class rep role really suits you, Mitamura-san," I said. "You seem like you'd be a good teacher."

"I have heard that many people wrongfully assume that authority figures only exist to enforce the rules," Mitamura-san said, "and while that is part of their job, it is only half of it. They should also guide and teach people, which is what I am doing with Iwasawa-san."

"Sounds nice. You sound like you really believe that."

"To do any less would be to fall short of what my family expects of me. I have been raised to fulfill my duties, and falling short of them would not only be my failing, but also that of my parents."

"That's a little strict. My parents have expectations of me, but they're for my benefit, not theirs."

Mitamura-san shook her head.

"My parents believe that all good citizens' first duty is to the societies in which they live," Mitamura-san said. "They do not raise me well due to any selfish ulterior motive, but because it is what society expects of parents like them. Even if this school is not governed by the rule of law, I must endeavor to ensure that everyone here lives by its principles."

Something seemed a little off about Mitamura-san's attribution of this argument to her parents, rather than herself, but I let it go. In a school in which anyone could commit murder for selfish reasons, it was a pleasant development to hear that someone was thinking about the bigger picture, and trying to keep the rest of us in line.

"That sounds like a good plan," I said. "Of course, it's up to us to actually do it."

"Then I will see to that myself," Mitamura-san said. "I have been taught that people are responsible for their actions, and also that leaders are responsible for their subordinates. Your safety is thus my duty, and I will endeavor to ensure that you remain alive."

I nodded approvingly. Even if Mitamura-san was once again attributing this belief to someone else, it was one that I shared, so I hoped to do what I could to help her toward this end.

"By the way, I'm curious about one thing," I said. "Are you fine with being called 'ma'am'?"

"I am quite pleased," Mitamura-san said with a smile. "Having been taught that I owe that respect to female strangers and authority figures I must confess that I enjoy having the same courtesy extended to me. I do not expect you to call me that, but please do not worry about whether doing so implies that you consider me old."

"Yes ma'am," I said reflexively.

"Very good," Mitamura-san said. "Between us, while Iwasawa-san is a bit of a slow learner, she is still eager to learn and take directions. That sort of spirit is what this group needs most, which is why I am glad that you possess it."

Mitamura-san then excused herself to prepare some lunch. While we'd gotten along thus far, I didn't quite consider her a friend- she'd told me little about herself, and seemed like the type to keep people at a certain professional distance. That said, I thought I could trust her, and was glad that she had a certain measure of faith in me, so I decided to do what I could to be worthy of that trust..

* * *

After lunch, I found Kurogane-kun in one of the classrooms. He'd been avoiding me ever since our investigation of the first floor ended, so I was about to excuse myself when he stopped me.

"What do you want, Miura?" Kurogane-kun said.

"Not much," I said. "I realize that you're still angry about my defeating you, but I'd like to do what I can to earn your forgiveness. We don't have to be friends, but given the nature of our situation, we should at least be able to get along and work together"

"So you're making nice with me to keep me from murdering you?" Kurogane-kun said. "Believe it or not, I don't plan on killing anyone, so keep your platitudes to yourself- they aren't necessary or appreciated."

Kurogane-kun tried to affect an air of calmness, but I could see him clenching his fists.

"I didn't think you were trying to graduate," I said. "I'm just saying that even if neither of us plan on murdering each other, we should be able to trust and cooperate with each other. That's why I'd like you to know how sorry I am for what happened in our game of s-"

"A GAME?!" Kurogane-kun said. "Spoken like a true amateur! I competed against siblings and relatives just so the rest of the family would approve of me. I defeated pros who, like me, had played for all their lives. And then some newbie shows up, making me the laughingstock of the professional shogi circuit and an embarrassment to my family, merely as a demonstration of her talent! I can't think of what's worse- that you'd surpass me so quickly, or your 'beginner's luck' only lasts long enough to make a fool out of me."

I paled, having realized my mistake too late. Perhaps our conversation couldn't possibly have turned out well, but there was no excuse for having forgotten Sugiura-san's warning from two days ago.

"I-I didn't think of it as..."

"Of course you didn't think! Dilettantes like you just play around until they're bored, then move on to the next thing. Your so-called 'talent' gives you a few wins, and might just fool most people into thinking that you're good at it, but you're still just playing around, not knowing what it takes to gradually build a reputation- or have all your hard work undone in a single loss."

"I didn't know..."

Kurogane-kun shook his head. While I wasn't able to get off a complete sentence while talking to him, it was clear that even if I could, he was in no mood to listen to what I had to say.

"I'll tell you this much," Kurogane-kun said. "True Ultimates hone their talents over time, and must continue to do so in order to be worthy of the honor- and burden- of being known as the best. You might not be able to leave this school, but you don't belong here, so don't talk to me unless it's actually important."

Kurogane-kun then quickly walked past me, and stormed off into the hall. As I peered out into the hall to call out after him, I didn't see him- only Akasaka-san, who'd stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, Akasaka-san," I said. "Did you hear that?"

Akasaka-san nodded.

"I certainly did, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "You know, Fujiko, the youngest of my five siblings takes losing better than Kurogane-kun does, and she's only _six_."

I was a bit surprised to hear that there was such a large gap between the Akasaka siblings' ages. My sister was only two years older than I was, so there were times, such as last year, when we went to the same school. With such a large discrepancy between the high school age eldest sister, and the elementary schooler youngest sister, it was almost as though Akasaka-san was closer to being Fujiko-chan's mother.

"Your sister sounds like a good girl," I said, "but at the same time, she's at that age in which she doesn't have to be particularly good at anything. For Kurogane-kun, a defeat to an amateur isn't just humiliating, but a stain on his reputation. To a pro like him, that isn't just a matter of pride, but also important to keep his career going."

It was tempting to dismiss anyone who took shogi as seriously as Kurogane-kun did to be unreasonably competitive or even egotistical. That said, we ultimately had to take our professions seriously, and games were no exception for the pros who played them. Writing was a fun hobby for me, but would I still be able to enjoy it if I became a published author, like Sensei? I wasn't so sure, so perhaps a part of me was glad that I could still do it for fun.

"I suppose I get that," Akasaka-san said, "since I've faced the pressure to keep winning in checkers ever since my first tournament victory. That said, does Kurogane-kun really believe his success was in a vacuum?"

"What do you mean?" I said.

"It's simple," Akasaka-san said. "Every time he won a game, his opponent lost. Every time he took first place a tournament, he triumphed over dozens, if not hundreds, of players. By proving himself to be the best, he dashed many other hopes, from relative amateurs to established pros. As obvious as it sounds, it's all too easy to forget when you're competing with others."

"I'm a bit surprised to hear you say that," I said, "since after all, you're also a competitive gamer, are you?"

"I am," Akasaka-san said, "but while my claim to fame is defeating others in checkers, I have the most fun playing friendly games, where I don't have to win, particularly with my younger siblings. If you'd like, I can play one with you some time."

"I appreciate the offer," I said. "I'll think about it."

"That's good," Akasaka-san said. "I'll try talking to Kurogane-kun on your behalf. He and I played shogi before, since I'm one of the few he considers a possible challenge, so I'm at least on speaking terms with him."

"Thank you," I said.

While I knew it was foolish to trust people too easily, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Kurogane-kun had refused my apology, more or less confirming that we'd never be on civil terms, much less friends. Still, while I couldn't do anything about it, I had no desire to simply leave things as is, so I hoped Akasaka-san could convince Kurogane-kun to come around.

* * *

I spent most of the day looking around and trying to uncover anything we hadn't turned up, but to no avail. At times, it felt like I was just going through the motions, trying to find something to do. A little boredom wasn't necessarily bad, since I had fond memories of lounging around the house in summer vacation after doing my homework, but being trapped in a school with nothing to do was a threat to my sanity.

After dinner, I went to the laundry room and washed the uniforms, socks and underwear I'd worn yesterday and the day before. While I was waiting, I looked around and found a strange coin with the picture of a bear on it. The coin was about a centimeter and a half in diameter, and seemed to be made out of some sort of alloy, since it weighed a negligible amount.

By the time I was done, it was about 8:40 PM. On my way out with my laundry, I saw Mizuhara-kun.

"Oh, hello, Mizuhara-kun," I said.

"Evening, Miura-san," Mizuhara-kun said. "Do the laundry machines work?"

"They do. I just finished washing my clothes."

"Great. It'd be a real problem if any of the machinery broke down, since there aren't any repair people around."

Hearing that reminded me of yet another reason to escape from this place. While we had food, water and shelter, we were essentially squatters inside this school, without the expertise to keep our "home" in good condition- the most we could manage was cleaning duty. Furthermore, many of the people we saw on a regular basis- hairdressers, doctors, dentists, optometrists, and many other professionals- were outside the school, so we'd have to make do without their services for as long as we were in here.

"Maybe Monokuma handles this," I said. "After all, he restocked the food yesterday."

"Bingo!" Monokuma said. "Good guess, Miura-san!"

Monokuma appeared before us again.

"Good timing, Monokuma," I said. "I actually wanted to see you this time, since I have a question about this coin."

"Lucky you," Monokuma said. "You found one of my personal currency- the Monocoins. You can spend them in the capsule machine on the first floor and get some wonderful prizes."

"You're... making me worried."

"Oh, don't be silly. The good news is that there aren't any murder weapons in that machine. The bad news is that there's nothing that could be used to help you get out. Just put the coin in, turn the knob, and enjoy!"

Monokuma then vanished.

"I'm having second thoughts about this," I said.

"Maybe," Mizuhara-kun said, "but it can't hurt to try, right?"

"I'll give it a shot," I said. "See you around, Mizuhara-kun."

I waved goodbye before exiting the laundry room.

* * *

After putting my clothes away in my room, I made my way to the school store.

On my way there, I noticed Akasaka-san and Katsura-san playing checkers in the rec room. It was probably too soon to expect Akasaka-san to speak with Kurogane-kun, much less change his mind, but I was glad to see her.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Akasaka-san and I are having a friendly game of checkers."

"Would you like to play the winner?" Akasaka-san said.

I softly giggled, knowing that there was only one way this would likely end, but then shook my head.

"Not now, thank you," I said. "Do you mind if I watch for a little bit?"

"You certainly may," Katsura-san said. "Maybe this time, I'll get a little closer to winning."

I took a quick look at the board. Katsura-san, who was playing red, had lost half of her pieces, while Akasaka-san had all but two of hers, and had promoted one piece to king. Her situation was grim, almost hopeless, but she seemed to have a good sense of humor about it.

"Back to what we were discussing before," Akasaka-san said. "I believe you said you also had siblings, Katsura-san?"

"Four of them," Katsura-san said. "Unlike yours, mine are significantly older- two of my brothers are in college, the other brother is in graduate school and our eldest sister is a housewife with a young daughter."

"Sounds nice," Akasaka-san said. "What's your niece like?"

"She's a sweet girl, and surprisingly mature for her age," Katsura-san said. "Of course, I do have to remind her that I'd rather be called 'Komaki-nee-chan' rather than 'Komaki-baa-chan,'- I think of her as more of a little sister than a niece."

"Are you... worried about your families?" I said.

Both girls nodded.

"I am," Akasaka-san said, "but I also know I'm a role model to my siblings. If I killed one of you and left the others to die, I'd never be able to look them in the eye again."

"The same goes for me," Katsura-san said. "Each of us is someone's child, and I'm sure all of us have parents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones. The idea that any of our young lives could be lost is heartbreaking, and while there may not be a solution to escape without anyone dying, I'm still determined to find one."

I thought back to two days ago. Akasaka-san's horror at the idea of one of our number killing a classmate then being executed was understandable enough, but Katsura-san had struck me as being somewhat pragmatic. Perhaps even though her mind was willing to consider the possibility that some of us wouldn't make it out, her heart refused to accept that.

"By the way, Akasaka-san," I said, "have you been able to talk with Kurogane-kun?"

Akasaka-san sadly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Miura-san, but I have not," Akasaka-san said. "Perhaps he realized that I overheard him and that my sympathies lie with you, since he's been avoiding me all evening."

"That's unfortunate," I said, "but considering that he didn't listen to Sensei, either, it's not too surprising. Thank you for trying, though."

"Akasaka-san told me about your dispute with Kurogane-kun," Katsura-san said. "I personally believe that some competition is necessary to determine the best and most worthy, since Kurogane-kun proved himself by defeating many challengers, and you proved yourself by defeating him."

"I understand," I said. "I'm not sure whether I'm worthy of being admitted to Talent High School, but I know that it's a rare opportunity that's only given to the most deserving."

Katsura-san nodded, evidently agreeing.

"That may be true," Katsura-san said, "but _because_ victories in such competitions go to the most deserving, you should never take defeat personally. I'll tell him that if I see him again."

"Thank you, Katsura-san," I said. "Please let me know how it goes."

Katsura-san then captured one of Akasaka-san's pieces, only to put her two remaining pieces in a position in which Akasaka-san's king could double jump them.

"It seems as though I've lost again," Katsura-san said, as both girls got up. "Thank you for the game, Akasaka-san."

Both girls stood up and bowed to each other, as a show of good sportsmanship. The game wasn't anywhere near close, but there weren't any hard feelings.

"Likewise, Katsura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Would you like to try again?"

"Certainly," Katsura-san said, "unless Miura-san would like to play either of us."

"Actually, I was on my way to the school store," I said. "Take care and have fun, both of you."

I then said goodbye to them and left the rec room, as they sat down to begin the next game.

* * *

I stopped by the school store, which had been my original destination, and saw Inoue-kun, Yuuki-san and Kagami-kun inside.

"Oh, good evening, you three," I said. "What are you up to?"

"Hey, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "We were trying to see if we could get anything out of the Monomono Machine."

"Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to accept our money," Kagami-kun said. "I tried putting some change in, and Inoue-kun lent me some American and Canadian coins, but none of them worked."

"It's probably for the best," Inoue-kun said. "I doubt anything good could come from something Monokuma made."

"Still, it might have something that could help us get out," Yuuki-san said. "Besides, it's always fun to play those machines and see what comes out."

A part of me sincerely hoped that Yuuki-san wouldn't end up exposed to any gambling, since I could see her spending large sums of money on pachinko machines.

"I see," I said. "Apparently, it's looking for a special currency- the Monocoin. I just found one."

"Cool!" Yuuki-san said. "Try putting it in!"

I put it in, turned the crank, and retrieved my prize- a capsule containing a blue and white Monokuma-like figure with a guitar. A small piece of paper inside said he was Monokid, one of five collectable figures. It was a bit disappointing that for all the effort Monokuma had gone into, this seemed to be little more than the kinds of machines you saw outside drug stores.

"Oh," Kagami-kun said. "So it's just another capsule machine, after all."

"Well, this is pretty cool, too," Yuuki-san said. "I'll try finding some Monocoins, too- let me know if you want to trade, Kaori-chan."

"I will," I said, as I put the Monokid figure into my skirt pocket.

We talked for a little bit about the Monocoins, and how much effort had been put into making this school into a prison. The mastermind behind the killing game was shrewd, thorough and likely connected to powerful allies, but they weren't infallible. We were only sixteen exceptionally talented high schoolers, but I believed that if we worked together, we could find a way to bring them down.

* * *

As I started to head back to my room, I heard the "call of nature," and headed to the ladies' room. It was a fairly standard women's restroom, with toilets in cubicles against the right wall (the one shared with the boys' restroom), and sinks against the left one. There was a security camera above the door, which made me feel a little self-conscious, but the walls were high enough to grant the users privacy.

I noticed that one of the stalls was in use, and, peeking underneath the door, saw a familiar-looking navy blue skirt around the occupant's slender pantyhose-clad legs. Moments later, Sensei stood up, flushed the toilet, and, after tucking her shirt back into the skirt and buttoning up her blazer, exited.

"Oh, good evening, Miura-san," Sensei said as she stepped out.

"Hello, Sensei," I said. "I'm just making a 'pit stop' before bedtime."

Sensei giggled.

"Strange how we use euphemisms for such a natural act, as if it's something to be ashamed of. When you think about it, it's nothing more than the body getting rid of waste, a bit like taking out the trash."

"Good analogy. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk for a little bit once we're done."

"Certainly. Take your time- I'm gong to wash my hands and brush my hair, and we can walk back to the dorms together once you're done."

As Sensei turned on the sink, I stepped into the stall, shut and locked the door, sat down on the toilet, and... well, you know the rest.

After flushing the toilet, and tucking my shirt back into my skirt, I looked under the door. Sensei was still there, and I could hear the faint sound of a hair brush running through her hair. I'd always considered girls with long dark hair beautiful, even if I found the style to be a bit too high-maintenance for my tastes. Like Katsura-san said, while good grooming seemed like a superficial concern, it was also a matter of self-respect and discipline, so I found I admired Sensei even more.

I quickly checked my watch, and noticed that the time was 9:30 PM. We would have a little time to talk, at least while walking back to our dorm rooms. As I opened the stall door, I heard a faint sound, like something falling down or being knocked over. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall behind me.

"Did you hear that, Sensei?" I said after I exited the stall and walked over to the sink.

Sensei nodded as she stood there, frozen in place, holding a few locks of her hair in her left hand and the hairbrush in the right, before quickly putting the brush into her pocket.

"Only barely," Sensei said. "It sounded like it came from the boys' bathroom, but I could hardly hear it- I thought I was imagining things."

"So did I," I said as I washed my hands. "Do you think we should check it out?"

"I believe so. It's probably nothing, but given the situation, we can't be too sure."

"All right. Mitamura-san won't be happy with us barging into the boys' bathroom, though."

"I'm sure she'll understand if we explain it to her, or at worst, will let us off with a warning. If not, I'll take full responsibility."

"Thank you, Sensei. Let's g-"

Sensei then put a finger to her lips, causing me to stop short. I then heard a series of loud and quick footfalls, the sound of which soon faded into the distance. Without saying a word, Sensei opened the door to the bathroom quickly peered out into the hallway, looking right, then left.

"So, who was it?" I said.

"I can't tell," Sensei said. "They got away. Let's investigate the boys' bathroom and figure out what happened- just don't step on the blood."

As I nodded, a chill went down my spine. Some girls might have been hesitant to enter the bathroom for those of the opposite sex, while others would look for practically any excuse to do so. Neither of those was on my mind, though- I now knew that I had to look into what had happened, if only to make sure that my worst fears hadn't come to pass.

Sensei and I exited the girls' bathroom into the hall. We quickly turned around and rushed into the boys' bathroom, at which point I noticed the bloody footprints- the front tip of someone's right shoe. Even in my haste, I was careful to follow Sensei's advice and avoid the footprints- apart from possible bloodborne pathogens, the worst possible thing that could happen to us was to be in the vicinity of the crime scene with blood on our shoes.

Sensei opened the door, and I slowly and carefully followed her into the boys' bathroom. No one was in there to notice our intrusion... no one alive, that is.

Kurogane-kun was lying on his stomach next to the urinals at the rear of the bathroom, blood oozing from a head wound.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

So there you have it- the first murder.

Some of the scenes in this chapter may seem like filler at first glance, but each has its purpose, whether character development, elaborating on the setting or providing subtle clues that will prove relevant in solving the murder.

I put up a poll on my profile asking who you think the first culprit is. For the sake of completeness, I will include all the students who are still alive at the time of the murder, as well as the victim, in each poll.


	4. Chapter I, Part 3

_Deadly Life_

What lay before my eyes- the dead body of someone I knew- didn't seem real. I'd watched people die in movies and on television, and had even seen a few dead bodies on the news, but seeing one in real life was something else entirely. Of course, real or not, it was impossible to deny the significance of what had happened. This was our wake-up call that the killing game was not a joke or a prank, but a struggle for our lives. Kurogane-kun had just lost his life, and if the rest of us didn't find out who was responsible, so would we.

"That's Kurogane-kun!" I said. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Sensei knelt down near Kurogane-kun's body, careful to avoid touching or stepping in the blood nearby, and took his pulse. After a moment, she stood up, then nodded grimly.

"Unfortunately, it seems so," Sensei said. "I... can hardly believe one of us actually committed murder, but we're past the point at which we can afford denial or disbelief. We must investigate while we can, or we will likely share his fate."

I looked around the bathroom, even though Kurogane-kun's corpse smelled like the toilet did before I flushed it. There didn't seem to be any indications of a struggle, so it was most likely that the killer had taken Kurogane-kun by surprise. The most likely murder weapon, a bloody mallet, lay near Kurogane-kun's body, evidently abandoned when the killer made their escape. I briefly wondered if they'd set up some sort of elaborate death trap to kill Kurogane-kun from a distance, but there wasn't anything of the sort that would prove its existence. Instead, the killer had apparently attacked Kurogane-kun from behind and quickly fled the scene, judging by the bloody footprints- a large pool of blood had formed to Kurogane-kun's right, and the killer had apparently stepped in it..

I then saw Kurogane-kun's right index finger, its tip stained with blood, pointing to the kanji for my family name, hastily written in blood but still legible, beneath the urinal Kurogane-kun evidently had used. Since my uniform's blazer had a name tag, everyone here who'd spent any amount of time with me knew how to write my name without my having to explain it. Knowing that most people would look at the bloody writing before any other evidence and consider me a suspect, even though my conviction would result in my death and theirs, my first reaction was panic.

"H-he wrote my name?" I said.

"Calm down, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Apart from the fact that I know you were in the girl's bathroom at the time of the crime, there's an obvious problem here. Kurogane-kun's fatal injury appears to be on the back of his head."

I took a deep breath, as well as another look at the corpse. Sure enough, the injury had been inflicted on the back of Kurogane-kun's head. One might have assumed that he'd been trying to run away, but it looked like he'd been taken by surprise and killed.

"So he couldn't have seen his attacker," I said.

"It seems so," Sensei said. "If he had, he probably would have tried to escape or fight back. If it's the former, he would have probably gotten further away. If it's the latter, he'd have taken his fatal injury from the front."

I took another look at Kurogane-kun's body, and noticed some blood on his clothes, something that likely applied to his killer. However, the soles of his shoes were more or less completely clean. On the ground nearby, there were some bloody footprints that looked like they'd been made by a sneaker, and all of them were from the right foot.

"By the way, whose bloody shoe print is this?" I said.

"I don't know the person's name, but it most likely belongs to the culprit," Sensei said, as she took out her handbook and took a picture of the footprint. "Not only does Kurogane-kun not have blood on his shoes, but the pattern of the footprint is completely different. If we track down the shoes' owner, we'll be significantly closer to finding the truth."

I nodded in agreement. We were in a dire situation if Monokuma was telling the truth, and our lives were indeed on the line, but I believed that Sensei would be a useful ally.

The bathroom door opened behind us. We turned and saw Fukuda-kun, who was most likely here for the same reason I'd visited the girls' bathroom minutes ago.

"Miura? Edogawa?" Fukuda-kun said. "I don't want to sound like Mitamura, but what are you two doing in the boys'-"

"Fukuda-kun, wait!" I said. "Don't touch the body or anything else, or you'll contaminate the crime scene."

"Body? Crime scene? What are you ta-"

Fukuda-kun gasped in horror as he saw Kurogane-kun's lifeless body. Suddenly, one of the monitors in the hall came on, and I saw Monokuma.

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma said. "After a brief period of investigation, we will hold a class trial."

As the monitor turned off, Fukuda-kun's eyes went wide.

"So... it's actually starting," Fukuda-kun said. "I didn't want to think any of us was the type to commit murder... but someone went and actually did it."

I nodded grimly. Even the more cynical of us would probably end up being shaken once they learned of it, but our success or failure in the class trial would depend on the spotless keeping a clear head.

"Fukuda-kun, there's something we must know in order to find out who is responsible for the murder," Sensei said. "Where were you about five minutes ago?"

"9:30?" Fukuda-kun said. "I was going running in the gym."

"So, just down the hall," Sensei said. "Were you doing it with anyone?"

"Not at all," Fukuda-kun said. "Earlier this evening, I asked Sakuragi if he wanted to work out, but he said he wasn't feeling up to it."

Sensei sighed and shook her head.

"I see," Sensei said. "It's unfortunate, but if you do not have someone else to validate your alibi, then it's harder to rule you out as a suspect."

"Maybe," Fukuda-kun said, "but aren't you two just as suspicious? After all, there's Miura's name written in blood."

"Yes, that's my name," I said, "seemingly written by a victim who was attacked from behind, while Sensei and I were in the girls' bathroom together. I have some idea of what it's like to be a suspect, since people will probably conclude that I did it, but we'll need to cooperate to find the truth."

"All right," Fukuda-kun said. "Sorry, I'm just a little tense, that's all."

Fukuda-kun then took a deep breath, and seemed to calm down a little bit, even if he didn't forget that there was a dead body in the room.

"In any case, Fukuda-kun," Sensei said, "while I can't say for sure that you were in the gym at the time of the murder, I also don't think you're a likely suspect. Based on my estimations, the killer ran toward the dorms. Besides, if you'd hit Kurogane-kun on the head with the hammer, you'd likely have blood on your clothes- particularly your shoes."

"I'm pretty sure mine are clean," Fukuda-kun said. "I'll show them to you if you two show me yours- deal?"

Sensei and I nodded, and the three of us took off our shoes. All three of our right soles were clean, and Fukuda-kun's hiking boots had a noticeably different pattern.

"Thank you, Fukuda-kun," Sensei said. "Not only is your shoe free of blood, but the pattern does not match. At least for the moment, you are most likely not the culprit."

We then put on our shoes again, in time for most of the others to rush in. First, Inoue-kun, Yuuki-san and Kagami-kun, standing in the doorway and propping it open. Less than a minute later, Katsura-san and Akasaka-san came. Shortly afterward, Mitamura-san and Sugiura-san arrived, at which point Monokuma appeared once again.

"All right," Monokuma said. "Now that most of you bastards are here, I'll get straight to the point. One of you lot committed a murder, and now you're gonna have to find the blackened 'whodunnit.' To keep things fair, I'm going to give you a little time to investigate this crime, and a special gift- the Monokuma File. It has everything you need to know about where, when and how the vic died."

Monokuma handed me a small tablet PC. Apparently, there was only one program on it- a document detailing the victim's death that included a white outline of the victim's body with purple circles indicating where he was wounded, as well as a text description of the body. I then read it aloud to everyone present.

 _Monokuma File 1_

 _The victim is Shiro Kurogane, the Ultimate Shogi Player._

 _The body was found in the boys' bathroom on the first floor of the school._

 _The approximate time of death is 9:30 PM._

 _The cause of death is a single killing blow to the head with a blunt object. The victim is believed to have died immediately._

So far, everything- the name of the victim, the location of the body, the approximate time of death- matched what Sensei and I had found. Monokuma was anything but trustworthy, especially when it came to defining what we'd "need to know." Still, at this point, this seemed to be the only concrete information we had about the murder, particularly regarding the time of death.

"Can this Monokuma File be trusted?" Mitamura-san said.

"It sure can," Monokuma said. "I don't see any Ultimate Coroners here, or even an Ultimate Detective this time, so are you bastards gonna tell me I'm wrong about this?'

"I won't," Sensei said. "My father has experience investigating crime scenes, but he doesn't have the skills necessary for a detailed autopsy, and neither do I. Trusting you is a bit much to ask, but none of us have the expertise to refute your personal File."

"Gotcha," Monokuma said. "Well, here you go. The rest is up to you- here's hoping your daddy taught you some of his tricks. I'll tell you all when it's time for the class trial."

Monokuma then vanished once again, around the time the remaining students arrived. As panicked murmurs rose from the newcomers, Mitamura-san snapped her fingers, silencing us.

"May I please have your attention?" Mitamura-san said. "At approximately 9:30 PM, one of us murdered Kurogane-san. Under Monokuma-san's rules, unless we discover the culprit's identity, the other fourteen of us will be put to death. As such, if you are the murderer, please confess, in order to ensure that we do not convict the wrong person."

Hoshino-kun raised his hand, even though he didn't seem to be the type to ask permission to speak. A few of us, not expecting an actual confession, gasped in surprise or stared in shock... until Hoshino-kun spoke.

"Why yes, I did it," Hoshino-kun said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I might be willing to kill a guy who's unarmed, but even I'm not enough of a bastard to let the rest of you die so I can get out of this hellhole."

"Please do not take this lightly, Hoshino-san," Mitamura-san said. "Your life is also at stake."

"Of course I'm serious," Hoshino-kun said. "Come on, Mitamura, do you think anyone's gonna just take one for the team like that?"

"It would be the most responsible thing to do," Mitamura-san said. "All of us have misbehaved at various points in our lives, and the best course of action is to take responsibility for our transgressions, then work to atone for them. Perhaps Kurogane-san's murderer never intended to kill him, and by confessing, will ensure that no one but they will have to die."

While Mitamura-san was usually fairly convincing, there was something about what she said that rang hollow, even if I couldn't put my finger on what. Maybe it was because she didn't seem like the kind to misbehave- or at least admit to it. Maybe it was because, as Hoshino-kun said, we couldn't reasonably expect the culprit to confess, given what was at stake for them. Or maybe, now that one of us had committed murder, a crime that also amounted to betraying the group, I couldn't just blindly trust her.

"Yeah, good speech," Hoshino-kun said. "And what if you did it? Are you willing to do what you just said and die for us, too?"

"Then that'd mean that Reiko-chan went into the boys' bathroom," Yuuki-san said, as Mitamura-san hesitated. "Can you really imagine her doing something like that, much less killing Shiro-kun?"

"On the other hand, we can't necessarily assume that only the boys could have done it," Kagami-kun said. "If we prematurely rule out the actual suspect, then we've essentially dug our own graves- not that we'll be buried if we die here."

Mitamura-san nodded.

"It is true that we know little that could help narrow down the list of suspects," Mitamura-san said, "which is why we must investigate the crime scene. I will stand guard at the scene of the crime to ensure that no one tampers with it."

"By yourself?" Hoshino-kun said. "If you're the culprit, you might tamper with it and plant evidence so that we'd suspect someone else."

Hoshino-kun had a point. Of course, while any tampering with the crime scene would be a setback we couldn't afford, the only seemingly obvious incriminating evidence- my name written in blood- was a forgery done by the true culprit to make people think I was responsible. Perhaps that might give us some insight as to who was responsible, but for now, I'd have to convince the others that Kurogane-kun couldn't have written my name.

"If you suspect me, Hoshino-san, then you may accompany me," Mitamura-san said.

"I'll guard the crime scene with you, Mitamura-san," Akasaka-san said. "I don't think I could contribute much to the investigation."

"Thank you, Akasaka-san," Mitamura-san said. "Are you content with this arrangement, Hoshino-san?"

"Fine by me," Hoshino-kun said. "I'd rather take a look around and do some investigating on my own. My life's on the line, too, after all."

Mitamura-san nodded in understanding. Perhaps Hoshino-kun's motives were selfish, but his actions were for the good of our group.

"Good," Mitamura-san said. "Everyone else- please split up and find out who knows anything about the crime, particularly where everyone was at around 9:30 PM and how the weapon was obtained. All of you may investigate the crime scene under my supervision, and should investigate any other locations around the school that may be relevant to the murder in some way."

We nodded in understanding.

"I have a request, Mitamura-san," Sensei said. "While we investigate the scene, would it be acceptable for Miura-san to hold on to the Monokuma File until the trial for safekeeping?"

Mitamura-san looked taken aback for some reason, more so than she had been when Hoshino-kun had directly challenged her authority. Maybe she thought Sensei was asking too much, or maybe she thought of her as a threat to her authority. I had to admit that I was also surprised, since I thought Sensei would be the best choice for stewardship of this vital piece of evidence.

"If that is what you wish, then I shall allow it," Mitamura-san said. "I hope, for your sake, that your trust is not misplaced."

"Thank you," Sensei said.

"One more thing," Mitamura-san said. "If any of the boys need to use the restroom, you may use the ladies' room for now. I would rather not have any unnecessary foot traffic in the crime scene, after all."

"A wise choice," Sensei said. "Everyone, when we convene for the class trial, I would like all of you to bring the murder weapons you received, if you still have them. If you do, we can thus determine who used theirs, and whether the hammer used to kill Kurogane-kun was one of Monokuma's 'gifts' to us."

The others looked at each other warily. Not cooperating would possibly imply that they had something to hide, but some of them likely believed that doing what Sensei had to say would lead them into a trap. A part of me resented their distrust of someone who wanted to solve the mystery, and had as much to lose as they did, but I realized that not everyone could easily trust her given the situation.

Now that the meeting was over, Mitamura-san, Akasaka-san and a few others remained in the boys' bathroom, while others left, seeking out clues elsewhere in the school. Since no one knew who to trust, they couldn't uncritically accept anyone else's results, so the only logical choice would be to find the truth alone. I couldn't fault their arriving at this conclusion, even if I didn't think they'd succeed by themselves.

As we split up to investigate, Sensei pulled me aside, into the girls' bathroom, After I went in, she shut the door behind her.

"What is it, Sensei?" I said.

"I'd keep the Monokuma File to yourself for now, Miura-san," Sensei said. "It's most likely that the culprit- probably one of those who arrived after Monokuma left- wrote your name under the assumption that people would believe that Kurogane-kun lived long enough to write your name in his own blood, or that people would not know when. Perhaps if the culprit pursues either line of argument at the trial, they may reveal themselves."

"That makes sense. Then again, people probably will know when Kurogane-kun died, since only about 10 minutes passed before the body discovery announcement- less if you consider that we were there for a while before Fukuda-kun showed up."

"True. Then perhaps the time will be less of a factor- for now, we should find out where everyone was at 9:30, so that we can narrow down our list of suspects."

I nodded. I had to wonder whether things were really this simple, but Sensei had given us a good place to begin.

"By the way," I said, "it might be my imagination, but Mitamura-san didn't seem all that happy about your request."

Sensei shrugged, which was hardly surprising- I had to admit that I wasn't completely sure about my impression of Mitamura-san. Of course, someone with Mitamura-san's intense passion for decorum would fervently remain civil at all times- or at least seem to be- even when dealing with someone she disliked.

"It's hardly surprising. Considering that one of us committed murder, everyone's on edge."

"That might be true, but it sounded like there was something else going on- maybe she's suspicious of you or thinks you're undermining her authority. Of course, when it comes to investigation, you're probably the best of us."

Sensei shrugged.

"I'm not so sure of that. While I have researched crimes and criminal investigation in order to write my mysteries, and learned a little from my father, I don't have the training or equipment for advanced detective techniques. Fingerprinting suspects is impossible for me, as is using luminol to test for blood. "

"I thought so. Still, this entire thing seems ad-hoc. Even if you're not a detective, you're still vastly more competent at this than most of the others... which is what worries me."

My fate, along with that of all the spotless, lay in the hands of people whose knowledge of criminal investigations was based on what they saw on TV- I knew I was no exception, and even Sensei didn't think of herself as one, either. Those people would play virtually every role in the courtroom despite not having any legal background. All verdicts handed down would be final, with death being the only sentence.

"I understand. The one bright side is that regardless of everyone's skills, the fact that our lives are on the line will force them to take this seriously. Not all of us can investigate the crime, but any of us could remember something that will help identify the culprit. Let's get to work, and see what everyone else knows."

I nodded. While I'd always considered Sensei to be quite trustworthy and competent, I never had any intention of letting her do all- or even most- of the work. I was probably even more out of my depth than she claimed to be, but even I could pitch in to find the killer.

Sensei and I looked outside, and saw a set of bloody footprints from what looked like someone's right foot leading out into the hallway, past the school store and rec room, and finally ending just outside the dorms. Unfortunately, most of them were smudged by now, as everyone rushing over had stepped on them.

Sensei sighed in deep disappointment and frustration.

"It looks as though we couldn't preserve the rest of the crime scene," Sensei said, "so now, the blackened isn't the only one with blood on their shoes."

"I know," I said. "Of course, smudged or not, I don't see any footprints going into the dorms. Maybe the culprit took off their shoes."

"That seems likely," Sensei said. "If the trail led back to their room, we'd be able to identify the killer... assuming the culprit didn't deliberately walk to someone else's dorm."

"In other words, we'll need more evidence," I said. "I'll go around and ask everyone to see what they know, as well as whether their shoes match the footprint."

"I plan on doing the same," Sensei said. "I'll meet up with you when I've learned more."

We then split up, setting out to look for all the information we could gather. If this trial was a shootout, evidence would serve as our bullets, and the more ammunition we had, the more likely it would be that we'd be standing at the end.

* * *

While Sensei was looking for more information, I saw Inoue-kun examining the trail of bloody footprints, which seemed to end just after the rec room. It was most likely that the killer had returned to their dorm room, but I couldn't tell which one.

"Something I can help you with, Miura-san?" Inoue-kun said, as he noticed me.

"I'm just double-checking, Inoue-kun, but where were you at 9:30 PM?" I said.

"Still in the school store. Yuuki-san and Kagami-kun were still there after you left."

I nodded. It would be easy enough to confirm his alibi later, and it matched what I knew for now.

"Got it. Did you hear someone running by?"

"I did, but I didn't get a good look, since the doors to the school store were closed at the time. It sounded like they were going to the dormitory."

"That's what Sensei and I concluded. Do you know anything else?"

Inoue-kun sighed and shook his head.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" Inoue-kun said, and I nodded. "If you believe in any higher powers, you should make peace with them, because you'll probably see them soon."

I couldn't accept what Inoue-kun was suggesting, and not because I'd never been to church apart from when my parents and I went to a relative's wedding. The idea of dying so young, and likely in a horrific manner, without seeing my family or friends again was too awful to contemplate, so I was a bit shocked that Inoue-kun seemed to consider that fate inevitable.

"I appreciate the thought," I said, "but I'd rather figure out who's responsible for this."

"So would I," Inoue-kun said, "but let's be realistic. When it comes to voting for the culprit, there's only one right answer, fourteen wrong ones and little evidence to prove who actually did it. Edogawa-san's novels aside, none of us have any experience in criminal investigation or trials. I don't trust myself to find the right answer, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't have much faith in anyone else."

"I can't argue with that. On the other hand, I can't accept that fourteen people, myself included, are going to die here, without making anything of our lives or even seeing our loved ones again. If there is something- _anything_ \- you can do to ensure it doesn't come to that, you owe it to yourself and everyone else to try."

Inoue-kun nervously chuckled.

"You do believe what you're saying, I'll give you that. I'm still not even remotely optimistic, but I'll do what I can to help."

"Thank you," I said. "Just let me know if you think of anything."

As I walked away, I thought about what Inoue-kun had said. His analysis of the situation was depressingly accurate, especially with a clue falsely naming me the culprit, but the panic hadn't set in just yet. A wrong verdict would mean death for all of us, but it was because the stakes were so high that I couldn't afford to let the pressure get to me.

* * *

I found Yuuki-san standing near the door to the dorms, trembling. As someone who wore her heart on her sleeve, it was only natural that she'd most clearly show how troubled she was.

"Are you all right, Yuuki-san?" I said.

"Sort of," Yuuki-san said. "I've been trying to take a look at the crime scene, but I freak out every time I see the body, so I can't get anything useful out of it."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's fine," Yuuki-san said. "Besides, I can't think of anything besides the fact that Shiro-kun got hit in the back of the head. Technically, anyone could've done it, right?"

"Technically, that's true," I said, "which is why we'll need to narrow down the list of suspects. The culprit is most likely someone who was alone in the boys' bathroom at the time of the crime, and got blood on their shoes and clothing."

"Got it," Yuuki-san said. "Well, seeing as how you were with Sae-chan at the time, it can't be you, right?"

"Right," I said. "And you were with Kagami-kun and Inoue-kun, right?"

"Sousuke-kun and Shinichi-kun?" Yuuki-san said. "Yep, none of us left the store until the body discovery announcement."

Either Yuuki-san hadn't seen the bloody message or didn't believe it. Regardless of which was the case, it was good that not everyone necessarily jumped to the most obvious conclusion about the crime.

"I see," I said. "Would it be possible for you to show me your shoes? I want to see if they have any blood on them."

Yuuki-san nodded, then took off her shoes and showed them to me. The shoes were completely clean of blood, and the pattern did not match the one at the scene. With a solid alibi, no blood on her shoes, and a personality that wasn't suited to killing, Yuuki-san almost certainly was not the culprit.

"Thank you," I said. "I'm almost positive you're not the culprit."

"That's good," Yuuki-san said. "I'm trying to think of who it could be, but I'm drawing a blank. With you and Sae-chan on the case, though, Kaori-chan, I'm sure we'll find the real killer."

It was a bit surprising to hear that Yuuki-san was relying on me- partially because she was an Ultimate, and partially because I didn't have any particular talent in this area. Still, it was true that our survival depended on our success, and so I strove to do my best on the investigation- I owed it to myself and those who believed in me.

* * *

I found Hoshino-kun searching the dining hall.

"Oh, there you are, Hoshino-kun," I said.

"Ah, Miura," Hoshino-kun said. "I don't suppose you've had any more luck finding out where the killer got the weapon?"

"Not really," I said. "Of course, if it's from an area anyone can access, it doesn't really narrow it down much."

Hoshino-kun nodded.

"If you don't mind my asking," I said, "how's the rest of your investigation going?"

"That's none of your business," Hoshino-kun said coldly.

I sighed, but wasn't particularly surprised that Hoshino-kun wasn't getting much information out of people. Perhaps his natural suspicion and paranoia of most people caused him to disbelieve what information they might provide, or maybe his attitude didn't exactly make them willing to cooperate with him.

"All right," I said, "but even if you're not willing to give me any information, I have a favor I'd like to ask. Would you be willing to let me take a look at your right shoe?"

Hoshino-kun shook his head.

"No," Hoshino-kun said. "For all I know, this is a setup, and you might just have planted evidence. You might be playing detective, but how do I know you're not trying to throw us all off and cover up your own crime?"

"Good question," I said, "I'd like to say 'because my life's at stake,' but that could just as easily prove that I'm trying to cover up my own crime. At this point, I doubt there's any way to prove my good intentions to you."

"You got that right," Hoshino-kun said. "All of us have a reason to commit murder, and any one of us could have done it, so we have to treat everyone who's still alive as a suspect."

"That's true," I said, "but at the same time, we can rule some people out. For example, Sensei and I were together at the time of the crime, so we can vouch for each other."

"Yeah, right," Hoshino-kun said. "Not only are you constantly going on about 'Sensei this' or 'Sensei that', you're the only one Edogawa really talks with. Seeing how buddy-buddy you two are, maybe you're in cahoots."

It was hard to tell how true Hoshino-kun's suggestion that Sensei didn't "really" talk with anyone else was, even if I knew she wasn't the killer. Still, at this rate, while Hoshino-kun wasn't wrong to distrust the others, he probably wasn't going to find any useful information at this rate, so Sensei was the only one I trusted to solve this mystery.

"I know you probably won't believe me at this point," I said, "but I will find evidence that clears both of our names, and finds the true killer."

"Suit yourself," Hoshino-kun said before walking off.

I simply shook my head and resumed my investigation, hoping the others would be more cooperative.

* * *

Since most of the other students were investigating, it was difficult to pin down any one of them and question them. Kagami-kun, however, did confirm Yuuki-san and Inoue-kun's alibis, so I was all but certain that none of the three were guilty. Katsura-san also confirmed that she and Akasaka-san had still been playing checkers at the time of the crime, so that was another two suspects off the list.

While I was looking inside the laundry room, Mizuhara-kun stopped by, coincidentally returning to where I'd last seen him before the crime.

"Hello, Mizuhara-kun," I said "Where exactly were you at the time of the murder?"

"Let's see," Mizuhara-kun said. "I saw you at 8:40 PM, and put my laundry in the washer just after you left. Ten minutes later, Iwasawa-san asked me for help with hers, so I put it in and stayed here while it was washing. At 9:10 PM, I put my laundry in the dryer, and I put hers in ten minutes later."

I looked into one of the dryers and saw two pairs of overalls tumbling around, proof that Iwasawa-san had been there. I was glad that everyone had their own unique styles of clothes- if the culprit had to wash a blazer-style uniform that was practically identical to everyone else's, it would be much harder to tell whose uniform was whose.

"I see," I said. "No one saw you there at the time of the crime, though?"

"Unfortunately, no. That said, Sakuragi-kun stopped by to say hi just before the body discovery announcement."

"I see," I said. "To be honest, it is possible that you could have made it over to the bathroom, killed Kurogane-kun, and then gotten back here."

"Possible, yes," Mizuhara-kun said. "Of course, this begs the question- how would I know that he was alone in the bathroom?"

I had to wonder why, myself. The chances of two of the eight boys needing to use the john at the same time was somewhat slim, so I had to wonder if the culprit had specifically lay in wait for Kurogane-kun.

"Good question. I'm personally still trying to figure out if the killer specifically targeted Kurogane-kun or chose a random victim."

Hypothetically speaking, if you wanted someone dead, you could murder any of the other survivors and then get away with it, in which case that person would be executed with the other spotless. Then again, if you _really_ wanted someone dead, or weren't confident that you wouldn't get caught, it would probably be best to just kill them yourself.

"To be honest, I'm not sure anyone liked him, but I can't think of anyone who wanted him dead," Mizuhara-kun said. "I mean, he did have a grudge against you, but it seems more likely that he'd try to kill you."

"That may be true," I said, "although he did tell me that he didn't want me dead. The real culprit must have assumed people would believe I wanted Kurogane-kun dead, since they wrote my name."

"That isn't too unreasonable of a guess," Mizuhara-kun said, "but if you think about it, everyone has a motive for killing- even the two of us. Still, if you're actually willing to investigate this case, I suppose it's worth my while to answer your questions."

"Thank you, Mizuhara-kun," I said. "For your sake, and that of the other spotless, I will find the killer."

It was clear that not everyone trusted me, nor could I trust them. That said, while they had reasons to betray our group and murder one of us, the spotless also had a vested interest in catching the blackened.

* * *

Inside the warehouse, I saw Iwasawa-san and Tezuka-kun looking intently at an open metal box. Rather than looking aimlessly, it seemed as though their search had bore fruit.

"Oh, hello, Tezuka-kun, Iwasawa-san," I said. "Did you find something?"

"It looks like someone opened this box of tools," Iwasawa-san said. "Out of all the tools inside, only a hammer is missing."

I looked inside and saw a bunch of tools that looked like they were meant for making a stone sculpture. They were quite cluttered inside the box, so it was hard to tell what was supposed to be there and what was missing.

Iwasawa-san then showed me another box of tools. I recognized the hammer as the same one at the crime scene, and noticed that the tools were lined up in a more orderly fashion. Until now, it had probably never been opened- or at least, someone hadn't rummaged around in it.

"That's definitely suspicious," I said. "But why didn't they take the whole box?"

"I honestly have no clue," Iwasawa-san said. "I didn't even know it was missing until Mr. Tezuka, who'd previously come here to get sculpting tools, mentioned the hammer."

"Yeah, I came by and got a box of tools on the first night," Tezuka-kun said. "I can show you to my room if you like- I've got the whole set in there, so I didn't just take a hammer to commit murder."

I paused to think for a moment. While Tezuka-kun had good reason to use those tools, he might also have taken the hammer- anyone could have.

"I see. Any idea who took the other hammer?"

"Definitely not me," Tezuka-kun said. "I know it sounds like I'm trying to save my own ass, but let me tell you- it really pisses me off when people use an artist's tools for murder. Iwasawa, you wouldn't like it if someone murdered people by stabbing them with pitchforks, would you?"

"Not one bit," Iwasawa-san said.

"There you have it," Tezuka-kun said. "I know you'll need evidence, but I hope this clears some of the suspicion from me."

"I know," I said. "By the way, Iwasawa-san, Mizuhara-kun helped you with your laundry, didn't he?"

"He did," Iwasawa-san said. "I met up with him at 8:50 PM, and then stopped by the laundry again at 9:20 PM."

"That's what he said," I said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see your and Tezuka-kun's shoes, please."

Iwasawa-san and Tezuka-kun showed me their shoes- a pair of work boots and dress shoes, respectively. It was clear, even from a glance, that neither had blood on them or a pattern that matched the footprints, but I still felt as though I was taking a step closer to the truth. Perhaps the case couldn't be solved alone, but all of us had some role to play.

"Got it," I said. "I wanted to see if you had any blood on your clothes, but they look clean."

"Thank you, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "I usually don't care if my overalls get dirty while I'm working in the field, but Miss Mitamura takes appearance seriously, so I've been trying to follow her example."

A part of me wondered whether Iwasawa-san had cleaned her clothes, but that was unlikely, assuming she'd only just learned how to do her laundry. Still, while there was little to suggest that either Iwasawa-san or Tezuka-kun were the killer, I felt as though I'd gotten one step closer to finding the truth.

* * *

As I left the warehouse, I saw Sensei coming out of the trash room.

"There you are, Miura-san," Sensei said. "How are you faring?"

"I don't have anything that would point to a possible suspect yet," I said. "Some of us don't have alibis, but I haven't found any conclusive leads yet."

"I see," Sensei said. "This is just a hunch, but have you considered the possibility that the culprit disposed of their clothes somehow?"

"I have," I said. "Of course, the culprit would have to do one of a few things with the bloody clothes- hide them, wash them or burn them."

As I reached the latter point, I realized that must have been Sensei's reason for looking in the trash room.

"The incinerator hasn't been used yet," Sensei said. "As for the laundry room, it would take too long to wash and dry the clothes- anyone whose clothes were found there would be suspicious."

"I checked the laundry room," I said. "Mizuhara-kun and Iwasawa-san washed their clothes there, but they started before the murder."

"So the culprit's clothes couldn't have been burned or washed," Sensei said. "I'd suggest searching everyone's room, but I doubt they will necessarily cooperate. For now, though, let's return to the crime scene and see if we can find any new information."

Sensei and I then set out for the first floor of the school once again, hoping we still had time.

* * *

Upon returning to the boys' bathroom, we saw Akasaka-san standing guard at the door, which had since been propped open.

"Ah, perfect timing, Miura-san, Edogawa-san," Akasaka-san said. "I was hoping you two would come."

"Did you find something, Akasaka-san?" Sensei said.

Akaasaka-san nodded.

"I took a look at Kurogane-kun's body," Akasaka-san said. "You probably noticed that his right finger was used to draw the kanji for Miura-san's name, didn't you?"

"I did," I said. "What about it?"

"There's a problem with that," Akasaka-san said. "Kurogane-kun was _left-handed._ "

"Really?" I said.

"He challenged me to a shogi game the day after we arrived," Akasaka-san said, "so I had ample opportunity to see him use his left hand to move the pieces. As such, I don't believe he was the one who wrote your name."

"That's useful information," I said. "Anyway, would you mind showing me your shoes?"

"Certainly," Akasaka-san said.

Akasaka-san took off her shoes- a pair of black dress shoes- and showed them to us. There was a bit of blood on the middle of the right shoe, but the shoe didn't match the one that was at the crime scene.

"Thank you," I said.

"It's my pleasure," Akasaka-san said. "Anyway, why are the two of you here?"

"I wanted to ask Mitamura-san something," Sensei said.

"She's just over there," Akasaka-san said, pointing toward the rear of the bathroom.

We then walked up to Mitamura-san who was closely examining Kurogane-kun's body.

"Mitamura-san, I have a question," I said. "Where were you at 9:30 PM?"

"In my room," Mitamura-san said. "Sugiura-san and I had been washing the dishes and cleaning up until 9:25 PM."

I thought for a moment. Even if Mitamura-san had no qualms against entering the boys' bathroom, it would be difficult, albeit not impossible, for her or Sugiura-san to make it all the way over there in time to commit the murder.

"I have two requests to make," Sensei said. "First, I would like to take a look at Kurogane-kun's corpse in more detail."

"Certainly," Mitamura-san said. "I have used my handbook's camera function to capture a picture of his body."

Sensei turned the victim's body over, and checked his pockets. Kurogane-kun's key and handbook, the only two possessions we knew he had, were still in his pocket. What I noticed first, however... was that his fly was unzipped.

"So it's as I thought," I said. "The killer caught him off guard while he was... occupied. Since the Monokuma File says he died instantly, he couldn't have seen his attacker or written my name."

"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said. "Still, we must explore all possibilities, and you and Edogawa-san were confirmed as being closest to the crime scene."

"That's the problem," I said. "Wouldn't we want to get really far away from it?"

"A reasonable assumption," Mitamura-san said. "I will concede that the two of you are less suspicious than those of us who do not have alibis."

"That brings me to my second request," Sensei said. "I believe that when the culprit hit Kurogane-kun on the head, some of his blood fell on their clothes. I would like to search everyone's room, particularly those who do not have alibis- since no one appears to be wearing bloody clothing, and it is unlikely that they washed or burned those items, perhaps the culprit hid their bloody clothes in their room."

Mitamura-san sighed.

"That may be difficult," Mitamura-san said. "Most of you have recognized me as a leader, but not everyone will simply do what I say. As such, it is the other students' prerogative to grant or deny access to their rooms."

I sighed. Hoshino-kun was not alone in suspecting others- only blunter than most about it. Hardly anyone would be willing to let another student into their room, particularly now that one of us had committed murder. All these were reasonable concerns, even if they did end up making it a bit more difficult to find the actual suspect.

"A few of the people I questioned wouldn't even take off their shoes for me," I said. "Sakuragi-kun's been avoiding me ever since the investigation started, and Hoshino-kun even said that I might be a suspect for the murder."

"That is a reasonable possibility," Mitamura-san said, "even if it does not excuse his refusal to cooperate. Unfortunately, it seems you will have to find other means of identifying the culprit."

Before I could make a suggestion or say anything, the monitors then came to life to deliver Monokuma's announcement.

"It is now time for the class trial," Monokuma said. "Please head to the red double doors on the first floor- they will lead you to an elevator that will take you to the courtroom."

The monitor shut off. I checked my watch and saw that it was around 10:10 PM- apparently, Monokuma had taken a break from the Night Time announcement, since I hadn't heard it during the investigation.

"Already?" I said. "We didn't get much time to investigate."

"Indeed," Sensei said. "I suspect Monokuma wants us to feel desperate and scared- how better to do that than force us to go into the trial without adequate preparation?""

"True," I said. "In any case, I suppose we have no choice but to do as he says, do we?"

Mitamura-san nodded.

"Authority figures may not necessarily be benevolent or legitimate, but they do have the power to ensure that there will be consequences if you disobey them," Mitamura-san said. "As such, while Monokuma-san may not be a respectable leader, he does have the power to punish any who would cross him, so you are correct- we have no choice."

"I see," Sensei said. "We'll stop by our rooms to retrieve our murder weapon bags- they may be important evidence in the trial."

The three of us then parted ways for the moment. We didn't feel nearly prepared enough for the trial, but we knew we couldn't afford to fail, so all we could do was keep our wits about us and think carefully.

* * *

After Sensei and I briefly stopped by our rooms to retrieve our weapons, we headed to the red door, and opened it, to see a small room in front of an elevator. I noticed several of the students carrying the bags. This was somewhat encouraging- at least some of us trusted Sensei enough to listen to her.

"Good to see you all made it!" Monokuma said. "Please board the elevator, which will take you down to the courtroom. As for whether you'll be around for the return trip... Puhuhuhuhu... that's up to you bastards."

I pulled Sensei aside and spoke to her in hushed tones.

"So, Sensei," I said. "Do you have any idea who the culprit might be?"

"Not at this point," Sensei said. "As I said before, my expertise primarily lies in writing about mysteries, not solving them. For all we know, I might have committed the murder, thus playing the common trope of forcing the protagonist to realize the ugly truth about someone she admired."

I quickly shook my head, and not just because someone like Sensei turning out to be the killer would be quite a cliche- of course, so was Kurogane-kun's grudge against me being used as the basis for framing me for his death. I simply couldn't accept that someone like Sensei was a murderess.

"T-That isn't possible!" I said reflexively. "Like you said, I was with you at the time of the crime."

"I know," Sensei said. "All the same, Miura-san, you shouldn't rule anyone out solely based on your feelings. We all have reason to get out of here, so any one of us could have given in to the temptation and committed murder."

I was tempted to deny that I was letting my emotions cloud my judgment but knew that I had my biases. For all I'd told myself that no one here could be fully trusted, I'd desperately hoped that it wouldn't be Sensei. She wasn't just my favorite young author, or someone who'd achieved the dream I once had, but she was also the first person here with whom I'd had a real conversation, and struck me as a kind and intelligent girl. If she wasn't trustworthy, then who could I trust?

Of course, Sensei, being intelligent as I'd imagined her to be, had a point. The others, Hoshino-kun in particular, weren't nearly as convinced of Sensei's innocence as I was, and perhaps the time would come- if not now, then later- when I would have to convince them that she was not guilty in order to find the true culprit. To do that, I would need a good argument and solid evidence, not merely my gut instinct.

"Still," Sensei said, "while blindly trusting anyone is unwise, the same can be said for distrusting everyone. All of the spotless have a stake in finding the blackened, which is something that can only be achieved by working together, sharing evidence and ideas to put together the pieces of the puzzle. As such, you have to know who you _can_ trust, and who is telling the truth."

"And you think you can trust me, Sensei?"

Sensei nodded with a reassuring smile.

"I do. Not only do I know where you were at the time of the crime, but in the three days we've known each other, you've given me the impression that you're an honest person at heart, and I haven't seen anything that indicates otherwise. Because of that, I believe we can solve this crime with the help of everyone else."

I nodded. While Sensei had reason to be hesitant to trust anyone, it felt as though she had thought things through, and believed that it would be wise- and necessary- to trust me. She was probably the most competent of us when it came to solving the crime, but she'd seen something in me, so for all our sakes especially hers, I was determined to not let her down.

Sensei and I then boarded the elevator. Judging from its size, seemed like it had originally been a freight elevator. It could easily carry all of our weight, but the fifteen of us were somewhat densely packed in- I couldn't swing my notepad without hitting someone.

We rode down in silence, contemplating many things, particularly the fact that in the best-case scenario, one of us wouldn't be around for the return trip. I couldn't help but feel pity for the killer, someone who only wanted to escape, but I also felt pity for the victim, and empathized with the other's desperate desire to stay alive.

Shiro Kurogane was the Ultimate Shogi Player. He and I had never gotten along, but while it was unlikely that we'd ever have become friends, I'd like to think I might have one day earned his forgiveness. His death meant we'd never have that chance, though, but the least I could do for him was find his killer. For his sake, and that of everyone else still alive, I swore I'd find the blackened in this class trial.

* * *

 **Author's Notes  
**

The next part is what you've likely been waiting for- the first class trial.

Kaori does occasionally know more than she lets on, and will occasionally figure out the killer in advance, but may not reveal it to readers, for the sake of suspense. Seeing the story from her perspective also colors her view of Sae, particularly since Kaori hasn't yet seen her more shy and vulnerable side(in part because Sae confides in Kaori most).

Hoshino's meant to be a bit of a deconstruction of the "rival" character archetype. His cynicism and brutal honesty enable him to make harsh but necessary points, but because he doesn't have a very cooperative personality or enough intelligence to solve the case by himself, his contributions will generally be limited.

Again, there's a poll on my profile asking who you think the culprit is in Chapter 1. I'll take it down when I post the class trial.

And here's a brief omake, parodying the pink blood.

 _Omake_

 _Katsura's POV_

I stood in the laundry room, watching Akasaka-san's blazer tumble in the wash. Akasaka-san sat in a chair, clutching a tissue to her nose in order to stem the tide of blood from her nostrils, and while some had gotten onto her blazer, her black shirt- apparently inspired by a loophole in the dress code- remained clean. I'd done all the preliminary steps in removing the bloodstain, and hoped that my knowledge of washing business attire would see us through.

"I think I have some good news, Akasaka-san," I said. "Assuming everything goes well, there shouldn't be any stains on your blazer."

"Thagg yoo, Kadsoora-sad,"("Thank you, Katsura-san,") Akasaka-san said.

I was considering suggesting that Akasaka-san call me the easier to pronounce 'Komaki', while I called her 'Kuro' in turn, but while we'd hit it off well, we didn't know each other very well. I didn't mind being called by my first name, but I thought it would be a bit soon to ask Akasaka-san to do so.

"You're welcome," I said. "As part of my ongoing effort to maintain a neat and professional appearance, I also know a few things about keeping clothes clean. Bloodstains are particularly hard to deal with, but there are ways."

"Good," Akasaka-san said. "Ad leadsd our bloods nod ping," ("At least our blood's not pink").

I laughed.

"Pink blood?" I said. "Now that would be something. "I have a pink skirt suit and a pink flower-patterned kimono back home, but even if human blood is pink, I wouldn't want to get any on either of those."

A smile came to Akasaka-san's face, and we shared the hope that a nosebleed would be the worst blood-related incident we'd have to worry about as long as we were in this school.


	5. Chapter I, Part 4

_Class Trial_

We arrived at the courtroom, a wide open room with a ring of podiums, or "seats" in the center. From our vantage point at the doors to the elevator, the judge's seat was to the right of the seats, a red set of double doors was opposite the judge's seat, and a large video screen was on the back wall.

We took our places at various seats around the area, each designated for a specific student, with Monokuma sitting in the a judge's seat. Assuming that Monokuma was at the twelve-o-clock position of a clock, the students, clockwise from his position, were Katsura-san, Mizuhara-kun, Sensei, Sakuragi-kun, Inoue-kun, Fukuda-kun, Mitamura-san, Sugiura-san, Kagami-kun, Akasaka-san, Hoshino-kun, Yuuki-san, myself, Iwasawa-san, Tezuka-kun and Kurogane-kun... or rather, where Kurogane-kun _would_ have been.

In Kurogane-kun's place, there was a framed portrait of his face, a bit like the kind you'd see at someone's funeral, standing on a pedestal that was tall enough that Kurogane-kun's face was about at the same height it would be if he were actually standing there. It was a tasteful memorial... or it would have been, if Kurogane-kun's face hadn't been crossed out with a large pink X.

At my seat, there was a control panel, with a touch-screen that displayed faces of each of my classmates, including the late Kurogane-kun, as well as a lever. I surmised that the buttons were used to select a culprit, and the lever was meant to finalize our vote.

I also noticed a large and somewhat intimidating-looking red button at Monokuma's chair. Knowing the circumstances, it most likely wouldn't do anything good, but at the same time, I noticed that Monokuma didn't seem all that concerned about accidentally pressing it.

Once everyone was in their respective places, Monokuma banged a gavel and called court to order.

"All right, by now, you know the rules," Monokuma said. "You've got to identify and vote for the 'blackened' who killed the victim. Make the right choice- they die and the rest of you live. Make the wrong choice- they live and the rest of you die. Capisce?"

"Si, signor," Inoue-kun said, still not completely convinced this _might not_ be his last night alive.

I took a moment to look around the courtroom, an easy task given the layout, and saw that Inoue-kun wasn't the only one who felt that way. I couldn't blame the others, but I also couldn't afford to give up now that everyone's lives were at stake.

"Good," Monokuma said. "I'm sick and tired of explaining the rules every time there's a trial, so I'm glad all of you are so quick on the uptake."

"That's nice," I said, "but for us, this is the first class trial."

"Exactly," Mitamura-san said, "so we have precious little idea of where to begin."

"Perhaps the best place to start would be by confirming alibis," Kagami-kun said. "If we can confirm everyone's whereabouts at the time of the crime, we may be able to deduce who couldn't have killed Kurogane-kun. Miura-san, you talked to most of us, didn't you?"

I nodded. It was still a bit embarrassing that my alibi for the time of the crime was relieving myself, but even that was an important piece of evidence, so I shared what I knew.

"I did," I said. "Around 9:30 PM, the time of the murder, Sensei and I were... in the ladies' room. Fukuda-kun was going for a run in the gym, although no one saw him until after the crime. I saw Inoue-kun, Kagami-kun and Yuuki-san in the school store, and also saw Akasaka-san playing checkers with Katsura-san in the rec room. Mitamura-san and Sugiura-san were washing dishes in the kitchen until five minutes before the murder. Mizuhara-kun was in the laundry room from 8:40 PM until the body discovery announcement, and Iwasawa-san was in there around the same time. Sakuragi-kun stopped by just before the announcement."

"So it sounds like most of us are accounted for," Tezuka-kun said. "As for me, I didn't go anywhere near the bathroom after dinner- I just went back to my room and started drawing."

"So in other words, no one saw you," Hoshino-kun said, "and we don't know that what you're saying isn't a steaming pile of bullshit."

"Maybe," Kagami-kun said, "but Miura-san has given us some useful information. With it, more than half of the survivors have been ruled out."

"Ok, but how do we know what time the murder happened?" Sakuragi-kun said.

"Two pieces of evidence," I said. "The first is the Monokuma File,which says Kurogane-kun died at 9:30 PM. As for the second, Sensei and I were... next door, and we both heard a loud thud at 9:30. Judging from the Monokuma File, that is when the culprit hit Kurogane-kun on the head, or perhaps when he fell over, dead."

"Gotcha," Sakuragi-kun said. "But can we really take your word for it? After all, you're the most likely suspect here. You had a motive for killing him, and you just admitted that you were in the area at the time."

"I can confirm Miura-san's alibi," Sensei said. "I did not leave the bathroom while she was on the toilet- she could see my feet in the gap under the stall door, and vice versa. I would also have heard her open the door and leave, had she done so."

"So you were together, huh?" Sakuragi-kun said. "Maybe you two are in cahoots and are lying to protect each other."

"I will admit that is a possibility," Mitamura-san said, "and would like to ask Monokuma-san a question. Is it possible for an accomplice to graduate?"

I felt a chill go down my spine, as I wondered if this meant Mitamura-san thought I was a suspect. Thankfully, though, Monokuma, of all people, came to my rescue.

"Nope!" Monokuma said. "Only the one who kills the victim gets to graduate, while the accomplice is considered spotless."

"But you only revealed this rule just now, did you not?" Mitamura-san said. "The culprits- if, indeed, there are more than one- could not have known about it."

"I'm not falling for that one again!" Monokuma said. "Your job is to figure out who killed Kurogane-kun, and what their name is! It doesn't matter whether they had help this time!"

I wasn't sure why this question hit such a sore spot for Monokuma, but maybe he had actually admitted something. By speaking of one person, he'd confirmed that the blackened had acted alone, thus confirming what I'd thought. But how would I go about proving that?

If this were a game, the answer would have come into my mind, a flash of intuition that would enable me to make a lucky guess. No such revelation happened, and I instead had to think back to just after the murder had occurred. Sensei and I hadn't manged to see the culprit, but we'd been present when they fled the scene, and would have known if they'd had an accomplice.

"I'm fairly sure that only one person is responsible," I said. "Sensei and I heard only one person running away from the crime scene. Judging from the sound and the bloody footprints, that person was probably going to the dorms. The suspect is likely to be one of those without an alibi."

"It isn't hard to see why," Kagami-kun said. "Being seen near a dead body with blood on you is enough to convince a lot of people that you're guilty."

"Are you sure?" Sakuragi-kun said. "It's possible that one of the people who supposedly had an alibi got someone else to lie for them."

"If they did, then they likely would have spoken up by now," Katsura-san said. "For the sake of argument, let's assume that I am the murderer. In order to secure an alibi, I would have Akasaka-san lie about our playing checkers together, presumably with the promise that she'd graduate along with me if she became my accomplice and I got away with murder. Now that Monokuma has proven that my graduating would result in Akasaka-san being executed, she would most likely tell the truth, if only in order to save her own life."

"That's right," Akasaka-san said. "Besides, Miura-san saw us before the murder, and confirmed our alibi."

"That doesn't prove much," Inoue-kun said. "I'm not saying Miura-san did it, but being caught in an obvious lie by saying she'd never seen you two would make her seem even more suspicious."

"Yeah, but I found Miura and Edogawa just standing there over Kurogane's body," Fukuda-kun said. "Like Kagami said just now, I find it easier to believe that they'd high-tail it out of there ASAP if they were the killers."

"So do I, Fukuda-san," Mitamura-san said. "While it is true that Miura-san and Edogawa-san were the closest to the scene of the crime, their solid alibi means that it is unlikely that either of them is the blackened. Perhaps it was worth discussing Sakuragi-san's suggestion, but in the end, neither of them are responsible."

"Yeah, but aren't you guys missing something?" Sakuragi-kun said. "The blood on the floor says 'Miura,' right? Why'd Kurogane write that if Miura hadn't killed him?"

As I shook my head, I realized why Sensei had asked me to keep the Monokuma File to myself until the trial. Sakuragi-kun was strangely persistent in suspecting me, and I intended to uncover the reason why. For now, though, the most important thing was to disprove his argument, lest the conversation be steered off track.

"He couldn't have," I said. "The Monokuma File has two important pieces of information- he was hit from behind and killed instantly. He presumably never saw his attacker, and did not live long enough to write their name."

"That's true," Akasaka-san said. "And like I said to Miura-san and Edogawa-san earlier, Kurogane-kun is left-handed, but supposedly used his right to write Miura-san's name. I'm left-handed myself, and wouldn't use my right hand unless I wasn't able to use my left."

I gave Akasaka-san an appreciative smile.. Her bit of testimony was less than conclusive, and we could only take her word for it, but it was good to hear someone else speaking out to prove that the dying message was a forgery.

"And your point is?" Sakuragi-kun said.

"It's quite simple," Akasaka-san said. "The bloody writing is a forgery made by the true culprit, someone who most likely did not know which hand Kurogane-kun favored. Perhaps not many people knew that Kurogane-kun was left-handed, but this proves that he did not write Miura-san's name."

"Talk about a half-assed murder plan," Hoshino-kun said. "Too bad the 'murder' part went off without a hitch."

"Ok, maybe Kurogane didn't write Miura's name in his blood," Sakuragi-kun said, "but that doesn't mean Miura _didn't_ kill him."

I sighed and shook my head, trying to keep my growing irritation under control. While Sakuragi-kun's arguments were especially unconvincing to Sensei and I, the two people who knew for a fact that I couldn't have committed murder, I had to wonder why he was pursuing them even though they'd been thoroughly debunked. At best, he came off as unusually stubborn and not too bright, but at worst... well, I didn't want to think about that for now.

"Apart from the fact that Miura-san was on the toilet in the other bathroom at the time of the murder, and I would have seen her leave, there's a significant problem," Sensei said. "Why would she write her own name? If she'd known where everyone was at the time of the murder, Fukuda-kun would have been a good candidate to frame, as someone who was close to the scene of the crime and didn't have an alibi."

As embarrassing as it was to once again have to remind everyone where I was at the time of the crime, I appreciated that Sensei was willing to point this out, since it sounded more convincing coming from her than it did from me.

"Maybe it's reverse psychology," Sakuragi-kun said. "She leaves an obvious clue and then uses the Monokuma File to rule herself out."

"None of us knew we'd receive the Monokuma File until we met at the scene of the crime," Sensei said. "It's most likely that whoever attempted to frame Miura-san did so without knowing that we'd be given a piece of evidence that proves that Kurogane-kun had died instantly."

"Yeah, that narrows it down a lot," Sakuragi-kun said.

"Seriously, Akito-kun, why are you doubting Sae-chan?" Yuuki-san said. "Even _if_ she's wrong about this, she knows she's going to die if Kaori-chan gets away with murder. Besides, those two were together the entire time, so Kaori-chan couldn't have done anything without Sae-chan seeing her."

I smiled appreciatively. As guileless and trusting as Yuuki-san was, at least she accepted the value of an alibi as evidence.

"That's right," I said. "I personally believe the culprit didn't know where I was at the time of the crime. As such, they most likely were not one of the people who saw me shortly before the murder."

"True," Inoue-kun said, "but unfortunately, that's roughly half of us. Rather than focusing on alibis and testimony, we'll need some concrete evidence."

"Normally, I would suggest fingerprints," Mitamura-san said, "and to that end, did not allow anyone to touch the hammer. Unfortunately, if none of us have the training or equipment to collect and analyze fingerprints, then it is simply not possible to use that evidence."

"I agree, Mitamura-san," Sensei said, "but perhaps the murder weapon itself is an important clue."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Hoshino-kun said. "If I'm not mistaken, the culprit got it from the sculpting tools in the warehouse. There isn't a lock, so anyone could have gotten it."

I wished I'd suggested that someone be posted to stand guard by the warehouse, but realized that wouldn't have changed much. Not only were there other places to obtain possible murder weapons, but there was a possibility that the person(s) on watch would take weapons for themselves, or end up giving them to someone who would commit murder.

"Maybe," Sakuragi-kun said, "or maybe Monokuma took it out of there to give out as a weapon. I can't think of anyone besides Miura who got a hammer."

I was about to say that I hadn't told anyone at all, but Sensei spoke first.

"Is that so?" Sensei said. "Then why don't we put that to the test? Everyone, please get out your weapon cases."

Sensei then produced a plastic box containing piano wire, and several others, myself included, followed suit. I had a hammer, Iwasawa-san had handcuffs, Mitamura-san had a screwdriver, Sugiura-san had a rope, Katsura-san had a steak knife, Yuuki-san had a razor blade, Fukuda-kun had a skewer, and Mizuhara-kun had a syringe.

Out of everyone who'd brought their weapons, I could tell that the vast majority of the implements were used for stabbing, slashing or strangling victims. All the weapons seemed to have the same logo as mine somewhere on them, almost as if Monokuma was branding his products. Unfortunately, one other obvious fact was that not everyone had cooperated.

"So not everyone brought their weapons," Sensei said. "May I ask why?"

"Sorry, I forgot," Kagami-kun said.

"Me too," Inoue-kun said.

"I couldn't make it back to my room in time," Sakuragi-kun said.

"I, uh... kind of opened mine," Tezuka-kun said sheepishly. "It's a chisel, so I thought I'd need it to do sculpting, and wanted to see how it'd work."

Tezuka-kun produced the chisel from his apron pocket, and I saw that while it had its various uses, bashing people on the head wasn't one of them. He wasn't in the clear just yet, but if he was telling the truth, he seemed less suspicious than the three who'd made excuses.

"I don't do something just because someone, who may or may not be the blackened, tells me to," Hoshino-kun said. "So sorry to disappoint you."

Mitamura-san sighed exasperatedly but didn't say anything about Hoshino-kun. This was the worst possible time for people to be uncooperative, but she still seemed to have some degree of sympathy for him.

"I will be blunt, Edogawa-san," Mitamura-san said. "As Hoshino-san said, since any of us could be the blackened, not everyone can unconditionally trust you to have good intentions."

"A fair assertion, Mitamura-san," Sensei said. "That said, I'm simply asking you to show your hands and help us narrow down the list of suspects, and I'm pleased to say it worked."

"How so?" Sugiura-san said. "No one besides Miura-san received a weapon that inflicts blunt trauma."

"Maybe one of the people who didn't bring their box did," Iwasawa-san said, "and that's why they're not showing us."

"Three things have become clear," Sensei said. "First, Miura-san never used her weapon- after all, the hammer at the crime scene does not have the same logo as the other murder weapons. Second, it is most likely that the culprit knew she had a hammer, and so brought one in hopes that we would assume she used her weapon to commit the murder. Third, the culprit made a mistake as to which kind of hammer she had, possibly due to only being told that Miura-san received a 'hammer' of some sort."

"Well, aren't you picky, Edogawa-san?" Monokuma said. "Do you really expect me to tell whoever got the list of weapons that Miura-san got an iron claw hammer in her box?"

I immediately noticed something was wrong with what Monokuma said. His note had revealed that one other person knew what weapon I had, but now, he seemed to imply that one person knew what weapons _everyone else_ had.

"Not exactly," Sensei said. "In fact, I'm grateful for the oversight. If the culprit made this assumption, then we have a good idea of who it might be."

"You think so?" Fukuda-kun said. "If we don't have the list, then we don't have any idea who got what. Besides, how do we even know that it's even accurate?"

"That's a good question, Fukuda-kun," I said, "but at breakfast two days ago, the culprit saw that Mitamura-san got a screwdriver, and heard Yuuki-san say that she got a razor. If they were able to confirm that the information on those two was correct, then it naturally follows that they'd assume the rest of the information was also true."

"True," Sensei said. "With that piece of information in mind, I believe it is possible to identify the blackened. You know which of us is responsible, don't you, Miura-san?"

I nodded. All the evidence pointed to that person being Kurogane-kun's killer, but I didn't want to believe they'd actually done it. I even wished that they'd accused me because they honestly thought I was the killer, not to cover up their crime. Someone who didn't know much about how Kurogane-kun died probably would have naturally suspected me, and by talking this though, we'd gotten closer to finding the truth.

The gears in my head began to turn. If the culprit had gotten a list of who got what, Mitamura-san showing everyone her weapon had been their first hint that the list was real. If they knew which people had which weapons, they would know that I had received a hammer. If they knew that I had a hammer, they would try to frame me by using the hammer as a weapon and making it seem as though Kurogane-kun had written my name. Only one person fit that description, and while I'd hesitated to accuse that person thus far, the time had come to identify the blackened

"I do," I said, reaching out and pointing at the person responsible. "I believe the one who killed Kurogane-kun is... Sakuragi-kun."

Sensei nodded to concur with my choice of the culprit. It was something that she'd likely known for some time, but had only been able to prove it now.

A moment of silence followed, and Sakuragi-kun looked around, likely hoping he'd see someone smiling, or even hear laughter at what he most likely assumed was a joke. The only laughter, however, was his own, as he let off a nervous chuckle and started fidgeting.

"C-Come on, Miura," Sakuragi-kun said. "I know you're probably mad about me accusing you, but saying I'm the killer is going a little far, don't you think?"

I shook my head. Sakuragi-kun might have committed murder, but he wasn't an evil person- simply a frightened boy who wanted to get out of here and was now fighting for his life, just like the rest of us were. It hardly seemed fair to sacrifice him, but if it meant that the rest of us would live, then it was the lesser of two evils.

"I don't want to have to do this," I said, "but you have a list of which weapons went to which people, don't you? If you did, you could have known that I had the hammer. By using a similar weapon and writing my name, you could thus attempt to frame me."

"You don't know that," Sakuragi-kun said, a bit defensively. "I just made a lucky guess, that's all."

"At breakfast yesterday, you said something strange," I said. "You said that Mitamura-san 'got one' when she showed us her screwdriver. A more normal reaction would be to realize that other people got murder weapons. I didn't have any proof that anyone else had gotten a weapon until I saw Mitamura-san's weapon."

It was just a theory, but I suspected that Monokuma had not given Sakuragi-kun a weapon. Information was a useful commodity, after all, and this might have been his idea of balancing things out. If true, it would also explain why Sakuragi-kun didn't show us his weapon- he didn't have one.

"Th-that doesn't prove anything!" Sakuragi-kun said. "Hell, the killer could have been Hoshino. He could've whacked Kurogane in the head with the wrench he got!"

For a moment, I almost wrote it off as desperate rambling, but then, Hoshino-kun spoke.

"Wait a minute, Sakuragi," Hoshino-kun said. "How the hell did you know that?"

"Huh?" Sakuragi-kun said.

"The thing is, I actually didn't want to show my weapon because it'd make me suspicious," Hoshino-kun said. "After all, I opened my box, I didn't have an alibi, and I'm the only one with a blunt weapon besides Miura, so it'd look pretty bad if they found out what weapon I got."

Hoshino-kun reached into the pocket of his pants and produced a wrench, holding it up for all to see. Gasps of surprise went up, and Sakuragi-kun began sweating bullets, realizing his mistake too late to do anything to fix it.

"So, I'll repeat my question," Hoshino-kun said. "How did you know I got the wrench if I didn't tell anyone else about it?"

"Uh... well, I think I just made a lucky guess," Sakuragi-kun said. "After all, other people had tools, didn't they?"

"My skewer and Katsura's steak knife are kitchen utensils," Fukuda-kun said. "There doesn't seem to be any sort of theme going on here."

"And I got handcuffs," Iwasawa-san said. "I don't understand how they're meant to be used to kill someone- maybe after handcuffing someone, you hold them underwater and drown them- but like Mr. Fukuda said, these weapons don't have much in common."

"B-but that's just a coincidence, right?" Sakuragi-kun said.

"I'd say it's more like a pattern," Inoue-kun said. "If you correctly guess two people's weapons without seeing them, and casually remark that a third person's was what you expected, then it's hard to claim ignorance."

"Yeah, but why'd I choose Kurogane as my victim?" Sakuragi-kun said, starting to raise his voice as he spoke.

"I think I have some idea," Sensei said. "When you were exploring the school with Group 1, you had ample opportunity to witness Kurogane-kun's hostility toward Miura-san. You perhaps realized that, at the very least, Miura-san would have a motive for killing him."

I realized that in many crime stories, the initial suspect was someone who had a grudge of some sort against the victim, from a jilted lover to a disgruntled subordinate. Said individuals were usually the most obvious choices, though, and rarely turned out to be the actual culprits. Thankfully for me, my classmates had chosen to focus on the facts rather than the motives, enabling me to prove my own innocence.

"So did you," Sakuragi-kun said flippantly. "After all, I remember you standing up for Miura. Maybe you killed Kurogane to get back at him."

"There's a problem with that," I said. "If Sensei killed Kurogane-kun and became the blackened, this can only end one of two ways- either she dies, or everyone else dies, including me. If she's willing to risk us convicting the wrong person, thereby getting me and the rest of the spotless executed, then she doesn't really care about me, does she?"

"No, I wouldn't," Sensei said. "Besides, Sakuragi-kun, you also knew which weapons Miura-san and Hoshino-kun received, and repeatedly insisted that Miura-san was the culprit in spite of the evidence to the contrary. All this points to your deliberately trying to frame her using that information."

"Yeah, but I have a question," Yuuki-san said. "If Aki- I mean, the culprit whacked Shiro-kun on the head from behind, shouldn't their clothes have at least a little blood on them? If I'd seen any on anyone, I would've freaked out big time."

I quickly glanced around the courtroom, to double-check whether anyone had blood on their clothes, but no one did. Perhaps Sakuragi-kun had been careless, but he wouldn't leave a clue this obvious.

"Sakuragi-san could have washed the blood off," Sugiura-san said. "It's possible to remove a blood stain from your clothes if you do it quickly and properly."

"That's true, Sugiura-san," Katsura-san said, "but I find it unlikely that he could have done so while being pressed for time. Only about ten minutes passed between the murder and the body discovery announcement."

"And I was in the laundry room, doing Iwasawa-san's laundry," Mizuhara-kun said. "Even if Sakuragi-kun had made it over in time to put his clothes in the washer, I would have seen him do that... oh, wait..."

Mizuhara-kun stopped short. In a lot of murder mysteries, a lot of seemingly innocuous details became very important in retrospect. I suspected that if we exposed Sakuragi-kun as the blackened and the rest of us made it through this trial, a lot of us would probably view our previous interactions with him in an entirely new light.

"Is something wrong?" Sugiura-san said.

"I just realized something," Mizuhara-kun said. "When Sakuragi-kun went to say hi to me, he might have been scouting out the laundry room to make sure no one was there. Since there was someone around, he realized he couldn't have washed his bloody clothes, and probably was about to head back to try something else when the body discovery announcement played."

"Obviously not while I was wearing them," Sakuragi-kun said. "Even with red on, the bloodstain would show up, and _someone_ would've noticed it at some point."

Sakuragi-kun had more or less admitted that he'd gotten blood on his clothing, but considering what was at stake, we needed more evidence to prove his guilt.

"That's true," Akasaka-san said. "When I got a nosebleed once, I ended up getting a blood stain on my blazer. You had to look closely, but it was there."

"It's possible that you changed clothes, Sakuragi-kun," I said. "Given how quickly you run, it's possible you could have made it back to the dorms by the time the body announcement came up, and emerged with an outfit that's completely identical, but doesn't have any blood on it."

"Maybe it's possible," Sakuragi-kun said, "but you can't prove that."

I cursed the fact that no one had seen the killer between when he escaped the crime scene and when he'd returned to his room- perhaps the people in the school store and rec room had been a bit too distracted to notice, or they hadn't heard the footfalls clearly. Sensei, however, was one step ahead, looking into an alternate solution.

"I have a request for Monokuma," Sensei said. "Would you be willing to allow us to search Sakuragi-kun's room for any bloody clothing, or the list of weapons?"

"No can do," Monokuma said. "I only allow investigation breaks if it makes trials more interesting, and letting you search Sakuragi-kun's room would make things a bit too easy."

"So you're admitting that he does have incriminating evidence in there?" Sensei said. "The presence of bloody clothes in his room would be quite damning, after all."

Monokuma clapped his paws over his mouth, almost seeming like he was blushing as he did so.

"You can't prove I changed clothes!" Sakuragi-kun said. "I've been wearing this uniform all day!"

"That might be true," Fukuda-kun said, "but it's also hard to prove that, unless there's some smudge or mark that was there before the murder, and still is now. For example, if I spilled something on my pants at dinner, but the stain is gone by now, it's likely that I changed or at least washed my clothes."

A burst of inspiration hit me as I remembered my conversation with Katsura-san about clothing.

"But what about your shoes, Sakuragi-kun?" I said. "If you're the culprit, then there might still be blood on them."

"That's true," Katsura-san said. "We received multiple changes of clothes, but only one pair of shoes, so you can't possibly have switched them for an identical pair."

"Well, my shoes don't have any blood on them!" Sakuragi-kun said. "Here, take a look!"

Sakuragi-kun took off his shoes- a pair of sneakers- and passed them to Sensei. Sensei examined them in detail for a few moments, then nodded solemnly.

"Thank you, Sakuragi-kun," Sensei said. "You've given me the final piece of the puzzle that I need."

"What?" Sakuragi-kun said. "What do you mean?"

Sensei held up Sakuragi-kun's right shoe in one hand and her handbook in the other. Her handbook displayed the picture she took of the bloody footprint.

"Take a close look, everyone," Sensei said. "The pattern in the blood should seem familiar- it's the same as Sakuragi-kun's shoe."

A part of me felt a bit proud of Sensei- perhaps she had a bit more of her father's aptitude for detective work in her than she realized. Another part was thankful to her for finding the decisive evidence to prove Sakuragi-kun's guilt. This was not an occasion worth celebrating, though, since it would seal the blackened's fate, but fourteen of us surviving was the best outcome we could hope for.

"Y-You set me up!" Sakuragi-kun said. "You must've edited the picture or something!"

"That isn't possible," I said. "As Monokuma explained, and Yuuki-san and I found out earlier today, there is no photo editing software on our handbooks- you can't even store more than one picture. Besides, while you were a possible suspect since the beginning, neither Sensei nor I knew what your shoe print looked like until you passed your shoes around just now. You remember refusing to show me your shoes, don't you?"

"So did a lot of people!" Sakuragi-kun said. "Besides, I'm not the only one who got blood on mine! What about Hoshino?"

Hoshino sighed exasperatedly, clearly not at all worried that we'd suspect him, but nevertheless annoyed.

"So I'm your fall guy now that we've cleared Miura?" Hoshino-kun said. "Fine, I'll show you my shoes."

Hoshino-kun took off his sneakers and showed them to us. There was some blood on the left shoe's heel, but none on the right shoe. More importantly, the pattern was completely unlike Sakuragi-kun's shoes. As such, it was obvious why he'd refused to show me his shoes, but judging from the evidence, he was not the culprit.

"See?" Sakuragi-kun said. "He's got blood on his shoes!"

"On the other foot, in the heel, and with a completely different footprint," Mitamura-san said, showing us her picture of the crime scene. "Please, Sakuragi-san- confess what you have done so we can vote without any doubts."

"Yeah," Hoshino-kun said. "I'm just about positive you did it, but I don't want to vote until I'm sure everyone's also voting for you, since I get executed along with everyone else if they're wrong, you know?"

I was speechless for a moment- had Hoshino-kun just agreed with Mitamura-san? Of course, the more important part was obvious- not everyone was sure Sakuragi-kun was the blackened. Maybe eight out of the fifteen of us would vote for him, but I didn't want to vote unless everyone was sure of his guilt.

"We don't have all night, you know," Monokuma said. "If you can't agree on the blackened, then I'll make you vote, ready or not."

"Are you getting impatient, Monokuma?" I said. "You were also fairly vague about the time limit for the investigation."

"That sort of thing's flexible," Monokuma said, "something to keep you bastards on task and prevent you from getting bogged down arguing about silly things. It looks like you're almost sure about the answer- but I won't say whether it's the right one- so hurry up and come to a conclusion."

Time limits and deadlines had their uses- to force people to work diligently, budget their time and have what they needed when they needed it. Of course, they worked best when they were fixed, reasonable and agreed upon in advance, none of which applied to Monokuma's time limits.

"I would rather not vote at this point," Mitamura-san said. "I may personally be convinced of Sakuragi-san's guilt, but I cannot say the same for everyone else."

"I don't blame them," Katsura-san said. "I know that he's the most likely to have done it, but I'd rather not risk fourteen people's lives, including my own, unless I'm 100 percent sure we'll make the right choice."

On the one hand, I understood everyone's desire for caution given the stakes. On the other hand, I believed the facts were on my side. The only way to reconcile both points of view was to convince everyone once and for all, by showing them that I could explain everything that happened and identify who was responsible.

"All right," I said. "I'm going to go over the facts of this case for everyone's benefit. Let me know if I get anything wrong."

 _Yesterday morning, Monokuma gave all of us weapons in an attempt to get us to commit murder. The culprit, however, got a little something extra- information on who got which weapons. At some point, they then plotted a murder using this information, along with the knowledge that Kurogane-kun had a grudge against me.  
_

 _The crime took place at some point just before the nighttime announcement. The culprit, having stolen a hammer, most likely either followed Kurogane-kun into the boys' bathroom, or lay in wait for him there. While Kurogane-kun was... using the bathroom, the culprit struck him on the back of the head with the hammer, killing him instantly._

 _The culprit dropped the hammer and wrote "Miura" in Kurogane-kun's blood in an attempt to implicate me, not knowing that I had an alibi. They then put a little blood on Kurogane-kun's right index finger, not knowing that Kurogane-kun was actually left-handed. Unfortunately, the culprit had two problems- blood on their clothes and blood on their shoes. Not wanting to be seen near the crime scene, and/or with the victim's blood on them, the culprit ran- or should I say, sprinted- out of the bathroom and through the halls, not noticing they left bloody footprints behind. By the time the culprit reached the dorms, they removed their shoes.  
_

 _At this point, most of us had alibis. Sensei and I were in the girls' bathroom together. Katsura-san and Akasaka-san were playing checkers in the rec room. Inoue-kun, Yuuki-san and Kagami-kun were in the school store. Mitamura-san and Sugiura-san had recently finished doing the dishes. Distracted by what we were doing, none of us saw the culprit, who made it back to their room and changed out of their bloody clothes, presumably also washing the blood off their shoes.  
_

 _The killer was faced with the task of disposing of or cleaning their bloody clothes, but when they checked the laundry room, Mizuhara-kun was already there. At that point, the body discovery announcement played, and the killer had no choice but to meet up with everyone else inside the boys' bathroom. At that point, they proceeded with their plan to pin the blame on me, not knowing that the Monokuma File proved that Kurogane-kun died instantly. Only one person knew what weapon I had received, what motive I might have for killing Kurogane-kun, and was able to write my name in the victim's blood.  
_

 _That person can only be you, Akito Sakuragi-kun!  
_

Sakuragi-kun trembled and looked around. The others seemed doubtful before, but none of them had any arguments against what I had said, and neither did he. After gibbering for a few seconds, he finally composed himself enough to give an intelligible answer.

"Y-You're right," Sakuragi-kun said. "I...I killed Kurogane."

Everyone else was speechless at for a moment, knowing what his confession meant. Sakuragi-kun had fought long and hard, since his life was depending on it, and now, he had surrendered that fight, resigning himself to death.

"It seems as though the matter is settled," Mitamura-san said. "With this evidence and Sakuragi-san's confession, no doubts remain."

The others nodded gravely. Of course, the fact that we were sure who to choose didn't mean we were happy about it. We all knew what was at stake... but also, what the consequences were.

"All right," Monokuma said. "Now, it's time to vote, using the levers on your seats. Remember- the majority wins, and anyone who refuses to vote gets punished. Will you make the right choice... or the dreadfully wrong one?"

I looked at my seat, and saw a timer was counting down. I hesitated for a moment, knowing that my vote would result in Sakuragi-kun's death, but quickly put that out of my head. The time for hesitation and doubt had passed, and the only thing left for me to do was to make the harsh but necessary choice to save the spotless.

As I voted, everyone else followed suit, except for Iwasawa-san, who needed a quick lesson on how to operate her panel.

A few seconds after Iwasawa-san's vote, the display near Monokuma's seat lit up, asking "Who killed Kurogane-kun?". The picture showed all of our portraits, with a number besides each showing how many votes we received- all of us besides Sakuragi-kun had zeroes, and he had a 15. A gaudy video poker display then appeared, showing five cards with Sakuragi-kun's face on them- one of each suit and a joker- as well as a "GUILTY" display. A triumphant chime then sounded, as if to say that our answer had been correct.

* * *

After a moment, the courtroom went silent, before Monokuma spoke. We waited with bated breath, since Monokuma's announcement would determine our fate, not just the killer's. Finally, Monokuma spoke.

"You got it right!" Monokuma said. "The culprit this time, the blackened who killed Shiro Kurogane-kun, is... Akito Sakuragi-kun!"

A part of me felt relieved. The worst-case scenario had been avoided, and fourteen of the fifteen survivors would stay alive... at least for now. At the same time, though, what I'd feared had come to pass. Kurogane-kun was dead, murdered by one of us... and Sakuragi-kun would soon join him.

"Sheesh, that was pretty easy. But I suppose when you've got a bunch of scared teenagers without any skills useful for killing people, a competent murder plot is too much to ask for. I really wish we had an Ultimate Murderous Fiend, an Ultimate Assassin, or even an Ultimate Swordsman."

I clenched my fists and bit my lip. Sakuragi-kun might have effectively betrayed us by murdering Kurogane-kun and trying to get away with it, but in the end, he was no less desperate and scared than the rest of us. At the very least, I had more sympathy for him than the one who was in charge of this killing game.

"And whose fault is that?" I said. "Who's responsible for us ending up in this class trial, in which the innocent can only survive by sacrificing the guilty?"

"I'd say Sakuragi-kun is," Monokuma said. "After all, he was the one who bashed poor Kurogane-kun's head in."

I sighed, and mentally kicked myself for asking a question like that. Of course Monokuma was going to deny all responsibility for this tragedy and pin it all on the students.

"And I suppose the fact that he was trapped in a school with students who were just as desperate to get out didn't have anything to do with it?"

"Now, now, Miura-san, it could've been worse. You might've taken the fall for the murder, and then we'd need a new protagonist. A lame plot twist like that this early on in the game wouldn't even be funny."

There were still many things I didn't understand at this point. Why was he acting like this was a game or a story? Wasn't Sensei the most valuable player in this trial? Wouldn't everyone besides Sakuragi-kun have been executed if I'd been convicted? Most importantly, why was Monokuma acting like this had happened before? Before I could pursue that line of questioning any further, Mitamura-san brought us back to the issue at hand.

"Please explain yourself, Sakuragi-san," Mitamura-san said. "We have uncovered _how_ you killed Kurogane-san and attempted to frame Miura-san, but not _why_ you would do such a thing."

"I...I couldn't take it anymore," Sakuragi-kun said. "All my life, running's been the only thing I was good at, the only thing I had. Trapped in here, separated from my family and friends, and my skills wasting away, I was going crazy. I knew I couldn't defend myself against a killer or find the real culprits, so this was my only chance to survive. I wanted to get out, to make sure everyone was OK, even go for one more run around the track. I... didn't want to accept that I'd have to be here until I die."

It wasn't hard to see where Sakuragi-kun was coming from. If he had a digital watch, like Yuuki-san did, then he knew that two years had passed since he came to this school, a period in which a lot could happen. Perhaps his record had been broken, his friends had forgotten him or something had befallen those important to him. The only way to find out was to graduate.

"So that's why you did it?" I said.

"Th-that's right," Sakuragi-kun said. "I didn't plan things out too far in advance, since I'm not good at thinking. I chose Kurogane because I knew he hated you, and took a hammer to make it look like you did it. I waited for him in the boys' bathroom, and when I saw him come in alone, decided that it was time to kill him, since everyone was probably busy at the time."

In other words, while most of us had alibis. Perhaps Sakuragi-kun had some idea of what he wanted to accomplish, but there were so many holes in his plan, even apart from what he couldn't foresee, that it was clear that he wasn't a murderous schemer- just a desperate boy who'd made more than a few bad decisions. Perhaps Kurogane-kun had died because of his actions, but did Sakuragi-kun deserve to pay with his life?

"After killing Kurogane, I ran all the way back to my room, got changed, and tried to wash my clothes, but Mizuhara was already there. Then I heard the body discovery announcement, and tried to hide my crime ever since. I've been scared out of my mind since Monokuma told us about this killing game, and even more scared after I killed Kurogane, so getting out's been the only thing on my mind."

Having gotten the answer to her question, Mitamura-san sighed, but then sternly frowned.

"I suppose I understand your feelings," Mitamura-san said. "At the same time, though, your actions were unacceptably selfish. For your own life and own desires, you murdered Kurogane-san, and were willing to let the rest of us die rather than own up to your actions and accept the consequences. I do not condone Monokuma-san's decision to sentence you to death, but someone like you has no place in our group."

"Please, enough, Mitamura-san," I said. "Don't you think that Sakuragi-kun understands that already? Even if he doesn't, do you really think telling him this will do any good at this point?"

Mitamura-san sadly shook her head.

"I...suppose not," Mitamura-san said. "Please forgive me, Sakuragi-san. I said too much."

"No... I'm sorry," Sakuragi-kun said. "I know everything that happened here's my fault. Besides, it's better if I get punished instead of all of you, right?"

"Yeah," Hoshino-kun said. "I'd rather not die for any of you, thank you very much."

"I know," Sakuragi-kun said. "B-But even if this is what I deserve, it's too soon! I still wanted to set the world record, find a girlfriend, and do all sorts of things with my life! I'm not ready to die yet!"

Hoshino-kun didn't have a rebuttal for that. Though he wasn't the type to show it, he'd probably been struggling with that fear for the entire investigation and trial, just as I had. He didn't especially care for Sakuragi-kun, but he couldn't judge him for wanting to live.

"All right, that's enough of that for now," Monokuma said. "We'll have plenty of time for regrets and whining about what should've been done instead later- it's time for the fun part now. Edogawa-san, could you please return Sakuragi-kun's shoes? He's going to need them for one last run."

Sensei, who'd held on to Sakuragi-kun's shoes in case anyone wanted to see the evidence, paled for a moment, then silently complied. Sakuragi-kun, his hands trembling, knelt down to put on and lace up his shoes.

"All set?" Monokuma said. "Good. Because it's that time we've all been waiting for- the execution!"

"E-Execution?" Sakuragi-kun said, losing even the veneer of composure he had after the verdict had been announced.

"Weren't you paying attention when I showed my film strip? It's an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, as they say. You took Kurogane-kun's life, so now I'm gonna take yours!"

I was nearly overwhelmed with disgust. This principle was perhaps a fair one by the standards of ancient times, when people needed some standard means of dealing with criminals, but we'd moved past that. Monokuma clearly didn't care about justice for Kurogane-kun or making an example out of Sakuragi-kun- he wanted us to suffer.

I quickly looked around. Even apart from Sakuragi-kun, who was gripped with terror during what he knew would be his final minutes, the rest of us were pale and speechless. Even Mitamura-san and Hoshino-kun, the two who'd criticized Sakuragi-kun the most harshly, were no exception- the normally composed Mitamura-san looked as though she was sweating bullets, while Hoshino-kun wouldn't look me in the eye. All of us had voted to find the killer and save ourselves, but none of us were prepared to watch him die.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Sprinter!"

"Please! Don't do this! I'M BEGGING YOU!"

"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Monokuma then struck the red button with his gavel, beginning the execution.

* * *

 **GAME OVER**

 **Sakuragi-kun has been found guilty.**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

After we saw this announcement, we glanced toward Sakuragi-kun, anxiously awaiting what would happen. True, he'd killed one of our classmates, but he was just as scared and desperate as all of us, so we hoped that if his death was inevitable, it would be quick and almost painless.

The door at the far end of the courtroom opened up and a collar on the end of a long cable shot out, snagging him around the neck before dragging him through it. A part of me hoped that the collar would break his neck or strangle him, but clearly, that wasn't part of Monokuma's plans.

The screen turned on, and all of us turned to get a better look. What motivated us wasn't curiosity, per se, but a mix of fear and the desperate desire to know, much like what Sensei and I had felt when we investigated the bathroom together. The first thing to appear before us was a title card, which was text that looked as though it was on a scoreboard.

 _The Ultimate Sprinter, Akito Sakuragi's Execution: Executed  
_

 _Running Man_

We next saw Sakuragi-kun on the screen, on a long, narrow track that was bordered with a chain link fence. Behind him, Monokuma sat at the controls of a large vehicle that looked like a giant steamroller, one that was wide enough to cover most of the track, and held a starting gun. Sakuragi-kun needed only a glance behind him to understand the situation, and assumed a starting position. When Monokuma fired the gun, Sakuragi-kun began sprinting, seemingly at a greater speed than was humanly possible.

After giving Sakuragi-kun a second's head start, Monokuma started up the steamroller and chased after him. The steamroller moved surprisingly quickly, and perfectly matched Sakuragi-kun's pace at his fastest. If he slowed down for any reason, or tried to climb the fence, it would be all over for him.

But Sakuragi-kun kept running for his life, even though the course's length seemed infinite, while his stamina was finite- as a sprinter, he clearly specialized in speed, rather than endurance. He was sweating and as red as a tomato, but he kept on going, knowing that continuing might kill him, but so would stopping.

He made it a long way, but finally succumbed, half tripping and half collapsing due to exhaustion. Before he even hit the ground, the steamroller overtook him, and he disappeared beneath its rollers as it passed over him, smeared with his blood.

A part of me wished that life was like a cartoon, and he'd have been flattened as much as a piece of paper, but this was not to be. As the steamroller passed over, we saw his remains, bloody and mangled beyond all recognition. The truth was harsh and undeniable- Sakuragi-kun was dead, and he would not be the first or last to die in this killing game.

* * *

A horrified silence reigned in the courtroom. As awful as Sakuragi-kun's demise had been, none of us averted our eyes from his execution, the consequence of the decision all of us had made for our own survival. Perhaps some of us had harshly judged Sakuragi-kun for being willing to sacrifice us for his survival and freedom, but we'd just sacrificed him to continue living ourselves. How different were we from him?

"Man, that execution was a real killer!" Monokuma said. "Sakuragi-kun might've botched his one shot at escaping, but he sure got the ball rolling on this killing game. He didn't even need a motive!"

"You mean escaping this hellhole isn't enough reason to kill someone?" Hoshino-kun said.

"Quite right," Monokuma said. "Usually, people like you need a little extra push to start killing each other on top of graduation, but that wasn't the case this time. With a pack of eager beavers like you, this killing game sure will be fun!"

"This killing game?" I said. "Monokuma, you keep talking as if you've seen all this before."

"I have. Not too long ago, eight boys and eight girls- one of whom was the mastermind- were locked inside a school just like this one and forced to kill each other. And kill they did, until only a handful were left over! But while the mastermind was among the dead, someone liked the killing game so much they decided to imitate it!"

The thought of this tragedy having happened before was almost unthinkable, but if two years had passed without us remembering it, maybe it had taken place during that time, and if the mastermind was one of us, they remembered it. For now, though, there was a more relevant question, even if Monokuma wa unlikely to answer it.

"That's horrible... Who could do such a thing?"

"Oh, believe me, I don't especially care for their reasons. Then again, as long as they help perpetuate _her_ legacy, I'm one happy bear. Besides, you bastards are the ones who are killing each other- the mastermind and I are just sitting back and watching."

I wasn't sure whether Monokuma intended to say this or was telling the truth, but if he was being honest, the mastermind wasn't someone sitting in a control room and operating Monokuma, but one of us.

"Anyway, that's enough for now," Monokuma said. "Until next time, everyone!"

Monokuma vanished once again, and I saw the door to the elevator open. The trial was over, and we were now free to leave the courtroom, and return to the school that served as our prison. It wasn't surprising that no one was happy about this, but it turned out that for the moment, they were distracted.

I heard gasps from all around me, and turned around to see Yuuki-san passed out next to me. If she was terrified at seeing a little blood, seeing Sakuragi-kun turned into a red stain was too much for her. Mitamura-san ran over as quickly as her uniform-appropriate skirt would allow, knelt down and took Yuuki-san's pulse.

"She merely fainted," Mitamura-san said. "I wish I could say she is all right, but that would hardly be accurate."

"I'll take her back to her room," Iwasawa-san said, checking Yuuki-san's pockets for her room key before lending Yuuki-san her right shoulder. Fukuda-kun did the same with his left, and we all boarded the elevator together.

As the doors closed, I saw Akasaka-san staring into the courtroom, toward the screen that had shown Sakuragi-kun's bloody last moments.

"Is this... really the best outcome?" Akasaka-san said, as tears streamed down her face. "Is it right for us to sacrifice the killer in order to continue living?"

"So you're fine with us dying to let a selfish, idiotic, murdering asshole like Sakuragi go free?" Hoshino-kun said. "Die on your own if you want, but leave me out of it."

"I'm not!" Akasaka-san said. "I..."

As Akasaka-san choked back a sob, Katsura-san laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I can see where Hoshino-kun is coming from," Katsura-san said. "During the vote, our decision didn't only determine our fate, but that of the other spotless. As such, we had a duty to find and convict the blackened, so the spotless majority could survive."

"I know, Katsura-san," Akasaka-san said. "I'm still not happy with this."

"Neither am I, Akasaka-san," Katsura-san said, as she wiped away a tear. "We might have avoided dying tonight, but we lost one of our number and gained nothing. This is the 'least worst' outcome, but the only good thing we can hope to accomplish is escaping this place. Anything else is nothing more than a temporary victory."

I expected Mitamura-san to say something about how ungrammatical Katsura-san's use of "least worst" was, but she wasn't in the mood. None of us were able to do much apart from board the elevator- or in Yuuki-san's case, be carried there, and ride it up back to the first floor.

As the elevator reached its destination and opened, its fourteen passengers- one fewer than the fifteen who went down- silently disembarked. Ten of them walked toward their respective dorms, while Iwasawa-san and Fukuda-kun carried Yuuki-san toward hers. Mitamura-san, however, stopped in her tracks, and Sensei and I remained behind to speak with her.

"Miura-san, Edogawa-san," Mitamura-san said. "I hope you do not regret the outcome of this trial, or the role you played in it. I, too, bear the burden of sentencing him to death, so please do not feel it is solely your responsibility."

"I know," Sensei said. "I cannot say whether Sakuragi-kun deserved his punishment, but if Miura-san and I had done nothing, all of us would be dead."

"That's true," I said. "I just wish things hadn't come to this."

"They should not have," Mitamura-san said, "but it is not your fault. It is my responsibility, as your leader. I failed to stop Sakuragi-san, and left uncovering the truth behind his crime to both of you. I swear to you all- I will not fail again."

Mitamura-san left us with those words and returned to her room.

"She's asking the impossible of herself," I said once Mitamura-san was out of earshot.

"I agree," Sensei said, "but perhaps it's easier to make promises one cannot keep than to accept the reality of this killing game- that more people will die, and any of us could be the next victim. As unrealistic as finding an escape route may be, it's the only hope we can cling to that does not involve murder and sacrifice."

I nodded gravely. I had never assumed that Monokuma would leave some gap in the school's defenses and allow us to get out, but it was easier to believe that than to accept that we'd stay here for the rest of our lives- which would likely end much sooner and more violently than we'd hoped.

"One more thing, Miura-san," Sensei said as I started to leave. "I may be the one who identified Sakuragi-kun's shoe print, as you said, but you shouldn't undersell your contributions. Not only were you the first one to propose looking at his shoes, but you also found the significance in a seemingly innocuous remark by Sakuragi-kun, and were able to put all the pieces together."

"I suppose," I said, "but out of all of us, you're probably the closest to being a real detective."

"If I am, you'd be my first choice for a partner," Sensei said.

I nodded, hoping to show at least some appreciation for the highest possible praise Sensei could give me. Aiko's partner and police contact, Detective Touko Matsuda, wasn't nearly the genius Aiko was, but she was competent enough to actually contribute to the investigation, and humble enough to accept Aiko's help, albeit partly because she was a young and inexperienced detective herself. Maybe I'd be like her if I joined the police someday.

"I'm glad you think so," I said. "I just can't fully accept that this is the best possible outcome for the trial."

"Neither can I," Sensei said. "Let's rest for now, and tomorrow, we'll resume our efforts to escape."

Sensei and I parted ways for the night, in no mood to celebrate. This victory could hardly be called one, since it only signified that most of us had survived... for now. Our reality hadn't changed- we were still trapped in this school, and any one of us could kill anyone at any time.

It reminded me a little of how Sensei, in her first book's afterword, had described each murder as a tragedy, and said all detectives could do was identify a guilty party, so that justice could be done. What happened to Kurogane-kun had been tragic, but there was no justice in Sakuragi-kun's sentence- only suffering and death for the sake of a sadistic bear's pleasure. How many of us would be murdered or executed? How long would we keep solving these mysteries?

I couldn't answer those questions- or perhaps I didn't want to. After all, Sakuragi-kun had faced the reality of his situation, and concluded that his only hope of survival was to kill. To stay alive, I would need to understand my situation, but to stay sane, I would need to avoid being overwhelmed by it. It was like balancing a tightrope, and I didn't know how long any of us would be able to walk it before tragedy struck again.

I had three options- keep striving toward the pipe dream of escape, commit a murder in order to graduate or kill the mastermind, or simply give up and accept that I'd be in this school forever. None of them were good, but only one would allow me to keep faith with the living and the dead, so I swore that someday, I'd escape with everyone who was still alive.

* * *

 _End of Chapter I  
_

 _Students Remaining: 14_

 _ **Running Shoes** : A memento of Sakuragi. They're comfortable, durable and serve runners well in all kinds of terrain.  
_

* * *

 **Author's Notes  
**

So ends the first Chapter. Now that the first trial's over, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it.

Akito's murder was meant to be poorly thought out, to show the kind of plans the less intelligent students might come up with, when they don't really know their classmates' deductive skills. You may also notice that some of the killers, especially Leon, are those who most fervently go down the wrong path in class trials, and have a higher than average chance to make weak points that must be refuted with truth bullets, particularly at important points in the trial (again, Leon insists that there isn't any evidence left).

Akito's surname comes from Yukari Sakuragi, the female class rep from Another. Yukari, along with her mother, thought to be the first casualty of the "calamity" plaguing Class 3-3 of her middle school, but in reality, she's the second (long story).

Incidentally, apart from New Danganronpa V3, you don't get a good look at the voting interface, so I had to take my best guess as to what it looks like.

Like in the games, I'll include various gifts from the convicted students.

Here's an omake, parodying the various Weak Points. Unlike some other fics I've read, I don't include Nonstop Debates, Rebuttal Showdowns, or most other gameplay mechanics. While the Closing Argument works well from a story(since it's a summary of the case) and technical standpoint (since it can be done as a monologue), the same can't be said for the other minigames, which work better in a video game than a text-based fanfic.

* * *

 _Omake_

 _Kaori's POV_

We were in the middle of debating who could have killed Kurogane-kun. I listened carefully, and finally found an opportunity to make my point.

"The bloody writing's all the proof we need!" Sakuragi-kun said. "Kurogane **saw Miura attack him** and wrote her name before he died!"

"NO, THAT'S WRONG!" I said, pointing my finger and firing the Truth Bullet for our first Monokuma File at the "weak spot" in his testimony- his claim that the victim had seen me.

Sakuragi-kun's words, floating in mid-air shattered as my Truth Bullet struck them. Silence reigned in the courtroom, and I had the floor.

"Your theory about what happened isn't possible, Sakuragi-kun," I said.

"What do you mean?" Sakuragi-kun said. "Are you still saying you're not the culprit?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point," I said. "The Monokuma File has two important pieces of evidence about Kurogane-kun's death. First, he was struck in the back of the head and second, he was killed instantly. He couldn't have seen his killer or lived long enough to write my name."

Mitamura-san sighed disapprovingly.

"Is something wrong, Mitamura-san?" I said. "This is an important point that will help us find the killer, or at the very least, prove that I couldn't have done it."

"That may be so, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said, "but I have two requests. First, please use your indoor voice. Second, pointing at people is rude, so please refrain from doing so."

"Oh," I said. "I'm sorry."

As I did a quick bow of apology, Sensei giggled.

"Maybe Talent High School should have nominated you as the Ultimate Defense Attorney, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Or maybe you're taking after Aiko."

I smiled faintly. Aiko was generally quite mature and intelligent for her age, but she had her quirks, partially to remind us that for all her talent, she was still a teenager at heart. The same went for all of us, which was why none of us deserved to be trapped in this killing game.

"Miura-san has a point," Akasaka-san said, "and considering that Kurogane-kun was left-handed..."


	6. Chapter II, Part 1

**Chapter II: Person(a) of the Year**

 _Daily Life_

I could barely sleep at all that night, and when I did sleep, it was largely due to exhaustion.

Kurogane-kun and I had never been on good terms, and I had to admit that I hadn't been particularly close to Sakuragi-kun, either. As for the others, while I admired Sensei and got along well with most of the others, I couldn't really call any of my classmates friends. I'd always found friendship to be overly idealized, possibly because I'd never really met anyone who counted as a "real" friend.

All the same, though, the tragedies that had occurred mere hours ago deeply disturbed me. Kurogane-kun and Sakuragi-kun might not have been my friends, but that didn't mean that their deaths didn't affect me. All they wanted to do was leave this school and get back to their lives, but in the space of a single night, those lives had ended. The murder and trial had been a harsh wake-up-call about the fragility of life, and I knew it wouldn't be the last one we'd have to experience.

Of course, as difficult as it was to accept, we knew what had to be done. All of the spotless had voted for the culprit, because as terrible as sacrificing Sakuragi-kun was, it was the lesser evil compared to the alternative- all of us dying. Even Sakuragi-kun, despite spending his last moments frightened and desperate, had accepted that we did not deserve to die for his crime. That wasn't enough to assuage my feelings of guilt, but I knew I'd think about that the next time I had to sentence one of us to death- even if that something I hoped would never happen again.

These thoughts went around and around in my mind until I was too tired to even think about them, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 _Day 4_

I woke up as my alarm went off. Alarm clocks don't care whether you've slept long or well enough, but neither do schools or employers, so setting your alarm is an unpleasant necessity in order to make it to where you have to be on time.

I hastily dressed myself and combed my hair, perfunctorily looking myself over and deciding that I was "good enough." While I believed that school uniforms were best worn in a respectable manner, there were some mornings when I had to run out the door in a hurry and fix my appearance later. Of course, back then, I'd overslept due to staying up too late playing video games or doing creative writing, rather than because I couldn't sleep after seeing two people I knew die in a single night.

I then heard my doorbell ring, and rushed over to answer the door. When I opened it, I found Sensei waiting outside my room. Her appearance was relatively neat, but I saw bags under her eyes- she probably hadn't slept well, either.

"Morning, Sensei," I said sleepily.

"Good morning, Miura-san," Sensei said. "It's almost time for breakfast, and Mitamura-san was a bit worried about you, so she asked me to fetch you."

I nodded, remembering the last thing we'd talked about. Mitamura-san clearly believed, with good reason, that I felt guilty over Sakuragi-kun's death, and I had been a bit slow to get going in the morning.

"I appreciate that," I said. "I'm on my way."

"All right. Just let me help you with your tie first- the knot's a bit crooked."

Sensei reached over and adjusted my knot.

"Thank you, Sensei," I said.

"You're welcome," Sensei said. "Mitamura-san may be strict and not entirely fond of me, but she means well."

We began the walk to the dining hall.

"You may know this already," Sensei said, "but the first draft of my first novel ended with the murderer, the single mother whose victim caused her child's death, being executed for her crimes. I'd hoped to use it as proof that killing does not go unpunished, and our detective heroine bore the responsibility for that woman's fate, but my editor found it too depressing."

"I can see why," I said. "I actually found that character somewhat sympathetic, even though she's a murderer. She deserves to be punished, but does she deserve to die?"

"I can't say," Sensei said, "which is why I took my editor's advice and had her get 20 years in prison, with the possibility of her being rehabilitated. She'll have to live with what she's done, but she can still atone for her sins and rebuild her life someday, so there's still hope for her."

"I agree. In the worst case scenario, her fate- being hanged in relative privacy, and presumably dying from a broken neck-would have been more merciful than what befell Sakuragi-kun."

Talent High School was ostensibly a school in the relatively free, prosperous and safe nation of Japan, but under Monokuma, it was essentially a dictatorship that had virtually no law enforcement, but draconian penalties for those who broke the rules. Perhaps it was selfish for Sakuragi-kun to seek graduation knowing that the rest of us would pay the price for it, but as far as he- or anyone here- knew, it was our only way out.

* * *

We entered the dining hall and sat down for breakfast. After we sat down at the large table, Mitamura-san stood up and called for our attention.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," Mitamura-san said. "Now that everyone has arrived, there is something I would like to say to you all. What happened yesterday- the loss of two of our number within hours of each other- was quite troubling, but I believe that by carrying on and continuing to observe our daily routine, we will be able to hold together."

Mitamura-san then looked around the room, which seemed a bit emptier than it had been the previous morning. Previously, the sixteen of us had filled all the seats in the dining hall, but now, two seats would remain empty from here on out, and this would likely happen again in the future.

"I am deeply sorry that a murder occurred on my watch," Mitamura-san said, bowing deeply as she spoke. "Such a failure on my part is unacceptable, and I will do what I can to ensure that it does not happen again."

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Mitamura-san," I said, "since you can't ensure that no one commits murder here. Believing he had no other choice, Sakuragi-kun learned of Kurogane-kun's grudge against me and tried to make it look like I killed him."

"Yes, that is true, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "It is also something that happened because I put the three of you in the same group together. Perhaps he would never have committed murder if not f-"

"Honestly, enough with the blame game," Hoshino-kun said. "It's pointless and arrogant to think that you could have prevented this if you had done such and such. It's Sakuragi's fault that Kurogane's dead- no one else's- and he paid the price for it. If anyone's selfish enough to kill someone and let the others die, they'll suffer his fate, and they've only got themselves to blame for it."

While Hoshino-kun was as tactless as always, and had never really approved of Mitamura-san being our leader, perhaps this was his way of trying to reassure her, and absolve us of the burden of guilt.

"I suppose you are correct, Hoshino-san," Mitamura-san said. "The only thing I can do going forward is ensure this does not happen again."

"The only thing 'you' can do, huh?" Hoshino-kun said.

"Yes," Mitamura-san said, "since it is my responsibility as leader. By the way, please do not interrupt- it is rude and disrespectful to the person who has the floor at the moment."

Yuuki-san smiled approvingly.

"Now there's the Reiko-chan we know," Yuuki-san said. "It's good to have you back."

"Again, I asked you to call me _Mitamura-san,"_ Mitamura-san said with a faint smile. _"_ But thank you, Yuuki-san."

I had to admit that I felt a little better seeing this. Perhaps this class trial wouldn't be the only one that would occur, but if we made it through, we could recover and push onward. The dead would never come back, but by persevering, we could save as many of the living as we could, and that thought was enough to keep me going for the moment.

"Anyway, I've got some news," Fukuda-kun said, to change the subject. "I checked the boys' bathroom in the first floor of the school after the trial, and someone cleaned it all up. Kurogane's body, the murder weapon and even the blood on the floor are all gone, so the guys don't have to share the girls' bathroom anymore."

"That's what you're worried about?" Mizuhara-kun said.

"It's a plus," Fukuda-kun said. "I just wanted Mitamura to know this."

"Thank you, Fukuda-san," Mitamura-san said. "This is important information."

"Still, this does seem strange," Sensei said. "I'd assume Monokuma had something to do with it, but I don't know why he'd do such a thing."

While it was obvious that Monokuma was up to no good, I had to admit that there were many things we didn't know about him- his motivations, real identity and source of his knowledge about the previous killing game. Maybe removing Kurogane-kun's body was part of a larger plan, or maybe he didn't want to leave a rotting corpse laying around.

"There's one more thing," Fukuda-kun said. "You know that shutter near the gym? It's been open since just after the trial. I bet we can get to the second floor now."

"You've got that right!" Monokuma said, appearing out of nowhere. "Consider it your reward for getting through the first class trial."

"That seems a little too generous for you, Monokuma," I said.

"Haven't you played any video games, Miura-san?" Monokuma said. "As you progress in them, you get various rewards that help further your progress and encourage you to keep playing, like new equipment in an RPG."

"So in other words, there's probably new murder weapons or other stuff that will encourage us to kill each other," I said.

"Smart girl!" Monokuma said. "Then again, I think you should see for yourselves."

Monokuma then disappeared.

"While I am a bit concerned about what we may find on the second floor, we need to explore the school," Sensei said. "What do you think, Mitamura-san?"

Mitamura-san looked taken aback, but then nodded.

"That is what we shall do," Mitamura-san said. "After all of us finish breakfast, we will go upstairs and learn what we can."

The fourteen of us then resumed eating. We had little reason to believe that anything we might find on the second floor would significantly improve our current situation, just like we had no reason to believe that we'd find an escape route on our first night. Still, it was the only thing we could do at this point, so we resolved to head to the second floor and learn what we could.

* * *

After breakfast, we proceeded to the second floor. On the way over, I surreptitiously peeked into the boys' bathroom, which was once again off limits to girls, and saw that Fukuda-kun was right. Kurogane-kun's body, his blood and the weapon that killed him were all gone. So, too, was the grate that had blocked our passage to the second floor, so the fourteen of us climbed the stairs in single file.

At the top of the stairs, Mitamura-san turned around and addressed us.

"We will spend this morning investigating this floor," Mitamura-san said. "Please split up and report back to me at noon."

"I've got a question," I said. "Don't we have groups or specific assignments this time?"

"Good question, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I have given the matter some thought, and decided that this is unnecessary. We do not yet know what we will find on this floor, although it almost certainly will not have a way out, and is unlikely to have any open doors to the next floor."

As we split up, I realized that given how densely we were packed, it would be foolish to attempt murder. If any of us cried out for help, then someone would arrive to assist us- or at least, be able to catch our killer. That idea was reassuring, but the fact that I'd even consider someone I'd spoken to trying to murder me was proof of how far my killing school life was removed from the one I'd known before.

I checked the floor plan in my notebook, and noticed that the hallway looked like a backwards C. To my immediate left, there was a faculty lounge, while there were two classrooms on the right side of the hall. Directly across from the stairs, there was an art room, with a repository next door, while across the hall from the repository, there was a library. None of them seemed as useful as the facilities we'd found in our preliminary search of the school, but I suppose that they were the sort of things one would find in an ordinary high school.

Of course, I had to wonder about what kind of school Talent High School was. High schools varied in their entrance requirements, but for the most part, they didn't have that much trouble filling their classes without compromising their standards too much. Said students came with a broad variety of interests and skillsets, and while most schools would be lucky to have one or two Ultimates pass through their halls en route to Hope's Peak or Talent High School throughout their entire existence, they could probably have at least a few competitive clubs or sports teams with records that they could be proud of.

A part of me missed my old school. It wasn't anything impressive in terms of academics, but my sister had managed to get into a decent college, and she reassured me that as long as I worked hard, I would be able to do the same. The mahjong club had been a small and friendly group that was always willing to accept new members, regardless of skill level. It was comfortable and familiar, and I'd long since gotten used to getting dressed and walking to school in the morning.

Perhaps if none of us had gotten into Talent High School, none of this ever would have happened. Of course, in that scenario, none of us, with the exception of Sensei and Inoue-kun, would have met each other. I couldn't help but wonder what sort of relationship we'd had with one another in the past two years that we'd forgotten, and wish that we'd been able to get to know each other outside of this killing game.

For now, I forgot about that. Perhaps these students had been my friends once, and maybe they could be again if we escaped together, but for now, I had to learn what I could about this floor.

* * *

I began my search by walking through the halls, scanning each of the rooms before doing a more in-depth exploration of each. Of these rooms, I started with one of the two classrooms on this floor, where I found Mizuhara-kun.

"Oh, hi, Miura-san," Mizuhara-kun said. "Any progress so far?"

"Not much," I said. "I do find it odd, though- there aren't that many classrooms for a high school. I find it hard to believe that there are only two classes per year."

"Well, this school is nothing if not exclusive," Mizuhara-kun said. "Then again, even my old school, which was out in the boonies, had more than 200 students."

"Good point," I said. "I'm curious how they keep this school going, though- I think there's a Reserve Course with a separate campus, but I haven't heard as much about it."

Even the most selective and prestigious schools had to admit a certain number of students in order to generate the tuition, and could only keep standards high due to having an even larger pool of applicants.

"That makes sense," Mizuhara-kun said, "since the whole thing sounds pretty ethically iffy. It's almost enough to make me wonder if the Talent High School administration's behind all this."

Back when I first started school, the teachers and administrators seemed incredibly powerful, as the first adult authority figures I'd met outside of my family. The school was their castle and the principal was the emperor, with the faculty and staff as his retainers, foot soldiers and servants. Of course, even back then, it was difficult for me to imagine them taking their mandatory attendance policy and preventing any of us from leaving.

"Who can say?" I said. "The only thing I'm sure of is that Monokuma and the 'mastermind' among the students didn't do this alone."

"That's right," Mizuhara-kun said. "Still, are you sure you want to go around telling people theories like that? I could be the mastermind, you know."

I paused for a moment, unsure of whether Mizuhara-kun was actually serious to so casually share such an outlandish suggestion. It was hard to tell, given how little I knew about him, but I knew the mastermind would do anything to avoid getting caught.

"Maybe," I said. "But at the moment, this is just a theory. It won't get me any closer to escaping or to taking down the mastermind and their allies. Besides, I highly doubt the mastermind, who knows that the others are gunning for them, would confess their identity so easily, even as a joke."

"That's right," Mizuhara-kun said. "I suppose I'm just on guard around most people."

Mizuhara-kun had a point. Just as cliques formed in many high schools, I could think of at least a few people around here who often spent time together, and those who couldn't stand each other- for example, Mitamura-san seemed to get along well with Iwasawa-san, but had something of a rivalry with Hoshino-kun. Mizuhara-kun didn't have any particularly close friends or bitter enemies, possibly the sign of someone who didn't want to get attached to anyone or risk anyone trying to kill or betray him.

Perhaps someone like that could be the mastermind, but I didn't have any evidence for that. Mizuhara-kun didn't seem to know anything he shouldn't, or be able to do anything the rest of us couldn't. In fact, when it came to people keeping others at a distance, I could think of a few others who fit the bill- the superstitious and pessimistic Inoue-kun, the mysterious Kagami-kun, the ever professional Mitamura-san, and the polite yet distant Sugiura-san. With thirteen candidates for mastermind besides me, no fewer than five real candidates and no real clues, I had no idea where to begin, save for the fact that most of us were not the person I was looking for.

"I understand," I said. "Just keep in mind that in any class trial, everyone except the blackened's lives depend on them finding the killer, so no matter their motives or personalities, they have a vested interest in succeeding."

Mizuhara-kun shrugged. I couldn't blame him for being ambivalent, since it was hard to tell a wrong guess that was made in good faith from an attempt to get us onto the wrong track. Of course, he didn't have a rebuttal for what I had to say, so I hoped he'd taken it to heart.

"I'll keep that in mind," Mizuhara-kun said.

"Thank you," I said, then let him get back to his investigation, hoping that he'd find something useful.

* * *

After leaving, I saw Fukuda-kun emerge from the adjacent classroom.

"Hey, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "I don't suppose there's anything in the room you were just in?"

"Not really," I said. "It's about what you'd expect for a room that's designed for students to sit still, listen to the teacher and read the blackboard."

"Figures," Fukuda-kun said. "That's pretty much why I've never been much for formal education, and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who feels that way."

I nodded, not at all surprised. Most of the Ultimates had talents that they developed outside of school, so it made sense that many of them weren't particularly good at school. I did well in school, but had to admit that there were many times when I'd rather be somewhere else, so I probably had at least a little in common with people like Fukuda-kun.

"Is something on your mind?" I said.

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "Sakuragi and I weren't really close, but I felt like we were similar in some ways. We're both athletic Ultimates, wasting the best years of our lives trapped in here, without knowing whether everyone we care about on the outside is all right. I might've been the one who snapped."

"I know," I said. "But you didn't, right?"

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "Rock climbing's insanely dangerous if you think about it, which is why you _don't_ focus too much on the danger part. If you know what you're doing and keep a cool head, you'll do just fine."

"I see," I said. "So staying calm's the way you manage?"

"You could say that," Fukuda-kun said. "I'm not the sort who thinks too deeply about many things, but I'd like to think I have common sense. I'd probably get caught if I killed anyone, which is probably a good thing- if I didn't, all of you would die."

I couldn't tell how well everyone was holding together, but at the very least, Fukuda-kun had a method of coping with the stress of being trapped inside and the fear of his life being in danger. I didn't think of hope as much of an abstract concept as a necessity to survive, since if we had a goal to work together, we'd be less likely to betray the others to ensure our own survival.

"Anyway, back to Sakuragi," Fukuda-kun said. "Because we had that much in common, I was hoping he'd agree to exercise with me, so I was disappointed when he didn't... because he was planning on killing Kurogane."

Pangs of disappointment and feelings of betrayal were audible in Fukuda-kun's voice. Not only was a potential friendship with a fellow athlete cut short before he could even plant the seeds, Fukuda-kun realized that Sakuragi-kun had been willing to abandon him and everyone else.

"I know what you mean," I said. "When someone dies, or otherwise goes away so suddenly, they leave behind a great deal of unfinished business, and cause those who knew them to wonder what might have been."

"True," Fukuda-kun said. "I just hope that this doesn't happen again."

I nodded in agreement. It was perhaps an unrealistic hope, but one that I shared with everyone else. In the end, Sakuragi-kun had regretted what he'd done, so perhaps not even the murderers wanted to kill anyone- they simply believed they had no other choice. The most obvious solution, albeit far from a practical one, was to give them another option to escape, so that was what I sought to do.

* * *

My next stop, as well as the first one I actually hoped would reveal something, was the faculty lounge. It was a small room with a circular table with a few chairs, a refrigerator, a microwave and a vending machine. Mitamura-san was sitting in the chair.

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "How are the others faring?"

"About as well as one could expect, Mitamura-san," I said. "The people I've encountered so far have found several new rooms, but little useful information."

"I thought so," Mitamura-san said. "I had hoped that any faculty members or other employees would have left something here, but I cannot find anything. It is strange that we have not found any faculty offices or work spaces thus far."

I took another look around and shook my head. This was a place that was designed for relaxation, eating and maybe socializing, not necessarily for work. There was next to no chance of someone having left some kind of clue laying around.

"Oh, so there's a vending machine here," I said, observing the only thing that caught my eye.

"I suspect it was originally intended for the faculty and staff," Mitamura-san said. "At my old school, snacks were strictly forbidden during school hours."

"That's going a bit far," I said. "I can get that they're worried about students making a mess, or maybe spoiling their appetites, but aren't we old enough to be responsible for cleaning after ourselves and managing our diets?"

"Perhaps. You believe that as children mature, they deserve more freedom as well as more responsibility, yes?"

"I thought that was almost universal. By letting kids make their own decisions once they're ready, they're gradually getting ready to live on their own."

"Most people think of it that way. However, as I have grown up, my responsibilities have grown, but not my rights. My duties as class representative and proofreader for my school's student council have taken up my time, but do not bestow any privileges upon me. Rather, they bring with them expectations- now that I am not the only one affected by my actions, it is even more important than I play my roles well."

"You don't sound very happy about that. So why take on all the responsibility?"

Mitamura-san looked almost taken aback, almost as if she'd never been asked that before, even by herself.

"Because it is expected of me. My family does not tolerate failure, dishonor or shirking duties. I am expected to excel at every one of my pursuits, and that is why they would be very disappointed in me if they learned that a murder occurred on my watch."

As tempting as it was to advise Mitamura-san to not put so much stock in what others though of her, I knew I had no right to say that. My parents were not especially strict with me, but I still felt compelled to obey them and stay out of trouble. The Ultimate Beginner's Luck wasn't much of a talent, but after I'd formally accepted the invitation to come to Talent High School, my parents took me out to dinner to celebrate, and to let me know they were proud of me, which was my fondest memory in recent years. Part of the reason why they were happy was that because they knew a Talent High School degree would help me get into a good college and get a good job, since admissions officers and hiring managers would judge me with decidedly less sentimentality than my parents would.

With that in mind, maybe Mitamura-san's parents came off as somewhat cold and overly strict, but perhaps they believed they were preparing her for the harsh reality of adult life, particularly living up to others' expectations. It was obvious that Mitamura-san longed for her parents' approval, and didn't always get it, but while some would call this desire petty or even selfish, perhaps I would feel the same way if I grew up in her household. As such, I chose not to share my judgment of her, but what I knew to be true.

"Like Hoshino-kun said, you shouldn't blame yourself, Mitamura-san. He might not be your biggest fan, but he said what he did for your benefit."

"I actually did recognize and appreciate Hoshino-san's intentions. Unfortunately, I learned long ago that my own opinion of how well or poorly I am doing is beside the point, and the same goes for people like him."

I had to wonder how much Mitamura-san believed what she was saying. Perhaps she'd been influenced by others' strict standards for her, but in the end, she seemed to have internalized them and taken them to heart- whether because she wanted her parents' approval or because she didn't know any other way. In any case, though, she was subtly reminding me that this wasn't my concern, so I decided to back off.

"Anyway, back to the vending machine," I said. "I only had a small amount of money in my uniform's pockets when I woke up here, and they took my wallet, so how does Monokuma expect us to pay for these snacks? With Monocoins?"

Mitamura-san shook her head.

"Inoue-san told me about the existence of the Monocoins before you joined us for breakfast," Mitamura-san said, "but you will not need any. Take a closer look. There is a reader for one's student handbook."

I looked closer and saw a scanner on the machine, at the part where one would normally insert money. I then took out my handbook and saw that my front page displayed a scan code, a bit like a smartphone with an e-ticket.

"I'll give it a try," I said.

I swiped my handbook across the scanner. The machine approved the scan, and displayed a message asking me to make my selection.

I browsed the machine and saw all kinds of snacks- chips, popcorn, candy bars, trail mix and so forth- and selected some Pocky, not for myself, but as a gift for Sensei. Unfortunately, when I tried to select a chocolate bar for myself, I got an error message- "Come back Tomorrow."

Mitamura-san stepped forward and selected some trail mix, which was a mix of cashews, peanuts and almonds. She tried again, but was unable to repeat the transaction.

"It would seem that the machine dispenses one snack per person per day," Mitamura-san said. "The reason appears to be that most people who visit the vending machine are not after the snack."

Mitamura-san directed my attention to the refrigerator, and I took a closer look. There was a lock installed inside the door, which meant that one couldn't just knock the padlock off or force it open- breaking down the door itself would be necessary. There was also a sign on the door.

 _The "Key" To Victory_

 _Inside this refrigerator lies a tool that will help you greatly in the killing school life._

 _The vending machine has the key, and each time you play it, you have a chance to get the key in addition to your item._

 _Remember, though- only one item per person per day._

"So it doesn't just give snacks to children, but also lets you gamble for a weapon," I said. "What do you think about this?"

"If this were a school, I would make a formal complaint to the headmaster," Mitamura-san said, "but since Monokuma-san does not have any real concern for the students' well-being, I must take matters into my own hands. I will purchase snacks every day in order to get the key. Should any of you get the key, I will ask you to turn it over to me for safekeeping, and I will keep it locked in my room so that no one opens the refrigerator. Is this a reasonable request?"

I nodded. Mitamura-san's request involved all of us asking in good faith, which was asking much of us given the circumstances. Still, while not everyone would necessarily cooperate, I had every intention of acting in good faith.

"It is, Mitamura-san," I said. "You can count on me."

"Thank you, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I will formally announce this when we meet again."

I nodded, then left for now. While the school still looked like a school, it was clear that Monokuma had repurposed some parts of it for his killing game, both to keep us in and encourage us to kill each other. I had to wonder how much had been changed, an answer I believed I would only get once I saw all the school... assuming we lived that long.

* * *

I found Sensei sitting in the library, leafing through a book.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Sensei said. "How is the investigation going?"

"Fairly well, but we haven't found too much useful information," I said. "Anyway, I have something for you."

I reached into my pocket, retrieved the Pocky and handed it to Sensei.

"Why, thank you," Sensei said. "Might I ask where you found it?"

"It's in the faculty lounge," I said. "A vending machine gives one snack to each student per day if you swipe your handbook. I found this out after I bought it for you."

"Is that so? Then please allow me to pick out a snack of your choice to repay you, once we're done here."

"Thank you, Sensei. What are you reading?"

Sensei closed the book she was reading and showed it to me. It was a fairly official-looking book about unsolved criminal cases, with a cover that only had a larger version of the title on the book's spine.

"This library has classified murder files and other sorts of things that a high school library has no business possessing. These are the case records of a murder case, in which a CEO was apparently poisoned while dining in a restaurant, an incident that threw his company into turmoil."

"That sounds disturbing. Did the police find the perpetrator?"

"No, they did not. Suspects are said to include the man's wife, mistress, business rivals, subordinates, or even someone at the restaurant. The report alleges the possibility of an Ultimate Poisoner, a high schooler who mastered the art of surreptitiously killing with poisons, as the name implies."

"So what are they going to do? Give this person an offer to come here? Or did Hope's Peak already snatch them up?"

I'd said that only half jokingly, but Sensei nodded.

"Who knows?" Sensei said. "I would keep this to yourself for now- we don't want to cause any unnecessary panic over something that may not even be true, much less relevant."

I nodded in agreement. Some of the Ultimate students' talents and backstories seemed almost fantastical, a bit like they were out of a manga or video game, but I suppose that was how people like them seemed to normal people. Given that Talent High School and Hope's Peak didn't seem to have any qualms with recruiting and studying the talents of exceptional teenage criminals, maybe they'd given at least one murderer an Ultimate title, a thought that made me wonder what kind of school I'd gotten myself into.

"I agree," I said. "Considering that anyone could become a murderer, some urban legend about someone who may or may not be a teenage master poisoner is the last thing we want to hear."

I browsed the shelves nearby. While browsing the Fiction section, I saw a very familiar-looking book spine- that of the Aiko Aizawa series.

"I found something interesting, Sensei," I said. "The library has your books."

"I'm touched," Sensei said. "Even if my books have critical and popular acclaim, I've never thought of them as truly sophisticated classical literature that would be worthy of a place on school reading lists. Perhaps the school simply makes room for its students' work."

I nodded. Hoshino-kun was probably the only other one of us who had his work published, but from what I heard, his work got in various astronomy research journals and other publications, not books.

"Who knows?" I said as I continued browsing "Maybe in a couple decades, high schools will put some of your and Fukawa-sensei's books on their reading lists... wait a minute..."

"Did you discover something?" Sensei said.

I nodded, then picked out a book that I had found, one that had immediately drawn my attention.

"You were only up to Volume 9 last I remember, right?" I said. "Or were you starting Volume 10?"

"I've done some work on Volume 10's concept," Sensei said. "I was thinking of having our heroine take a class trip to America and getting involved in a murder there, one involving firearms. My editor approved the idea, although she suggested that I do some research on American laws."

I nodded, then showed her the book, starting with the cover before flipping it around and showing her the back.

"This here is Volume 10," I said. "The summary says, and I quote, 'Even students who double as detectives need breaks, and Aiko Aizawa accompanies her class on a trip to Hollywood. Unfortunately for her, she comes face to face with the dark side of Tinseltown when a murder happens, drawing her into showbiz's world of intrigue, betrayal and conspiracy.' Sound familiar?"

"It does," Sensei said. "It's possible some of the details changed in the writing and editing process, but it's likely that I already wrote this, and don't remember it."

I nodded. Considering that Sensei released a book every few months, it was likely that she'd written at least one in the two year period we'd forgotten, assuming we hadn't been trapped inside the school the whole time. Obviously, it would behoove us to find out what had happened during that time.

"There's more," I said. "In your acknowledgments, you also mention attending Talent High School. You thank the administration for this opportunity, as well as your friends for their support."

"That sounds like something I'd do," Sensei said, "or rather, that I _have done_. Please let me take a look."

I handed Sensei the book, and she immediately flipped to the front, where the publication information was printed.

"Let's see..." Sensei said, "Judging from the date, Volume 10 seems to have been published midway through my first year, whereas I finished Volume 9 before I started school at Talent High School. That would confirm that a significant amount of time has passed since we first got here."

"It seems that way," I said. "Still, it's a bit hard to get my head around the idea that we were friends in the past, seeing how we only met a few days ago."

"I see," Sensei said, a bit disappointed. "It's only natural that if we forgot _everything_ that had happened since we arrived at this school, we'd also forget the friends we'd made."

I nodded, and once again had to wonder what had transpired at the school. Perhaps Kurogane-kun had eventually come to forgive me for his defeat and humiliation. Perhaps Sakuragi-kun would have hesitated to kill Kurogane-kun and let the rest of us die if he had two years worth of memories with us. Perhaps Sensei and I had been friends, or perhaps closer than that, during that time.

"It looks like we've finally found an important piece of evidence," I said. "Let's show this to the others."

I used my handbook's camera function to take a picture of the book's publication date.

"I think there's at least one or two rooms we haven't looked in," I said. "I'll check them out."

"Please do," Sensei said. "I'll head back down to the first floor."

We split up for the moment, with more questions than answers. Apparently, the mastermind behind this killing game was not only capable of sealing us inside the school, making robots like Monokuma and designing twisted execution machines, but could erase and possibly revise our memories as if they were writing on a chalkboard. We had a powerful and dangerous enemy, one who would be difficult to defeat even if we weren't pitted against each other.

* * *

I found an art room on the second floor, and saw Sugiura-san investigating it.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Sugiura-san said. "You just missed Tezuka-san, who was quite happy to have a room like this."

"It does seem like it would have a lot of art supplies," I said, "although it would seem like it does also have a lot of possible murder weapons."

"It cannot be helped," Sugiura-san said. "There do not seem to be any locks on this room, the warehouse or the kitchen, so there are no apparent ways to control access to potential weapons. Apart from our rooms, most of these locks seem to be here to impede our progress, not keep us safe."

"That's Monokuma for you," I said. "Or is it possible that the school was like this to begin with?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sugiura-san said. "I do find it difficult to believe that Monokuma was solely responsible for altering the entire school."

I shrugged.

"Well, there is a mastermind among us," I said, "but I don't think they could have done this alone, either."

"True," Sugiura-san said. "From working in a restaurant, I know we can't succeed without people with various skills- those who cook the food, those who serve it and those who handle the business aspect. Society needs people with all kinds of occupations, even the seemingly thankless ones. The same goes with criminals like those responsible for us being trapped in here."

I nodded, agreeing with Sugiura-san's analogy. Perhaps society would benefit from identifying and supporting the best of the best, whose crowning achievements made history, but it also relied on the everyday efforts of countless ordinary people. It was a touching celebration of the masses, as well as the most Sugiura-san had expressed herself since I'd first met her.

"By the way, I've noticed something," I said. "I don't think the two of us have ever really talked in our time here, have we?"

"Is that so unusual?" Sugiura-san said. "When I'm working, I'm expected to be strictly professional with our customers. The vast majority of the people in your grade, and even your class, will not be anything more than acquaintances to you. As such, I'm accustomed to keeping people at a distance."

"I get that," I said. "It's not like I'm close with anyone else, either. The most I can say is that I'm getting along with them."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have a problem with that," Sugiura-san said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have the rest of the floor to inspect."

Sugiura-san left without another word. She seemed as though she was well-mannered- a trait I believed I also possessed- but while politeness was a virtue, it often served to keep others at a certain distance. As such, it was hardly surprising that someone as cheerful and friendly as Yuuki-san was so informal, while someone as serious and dutiful as Mitamura-san was so formal. As for me, I'd accepted that most of my classmates likely wouldn't become my friends... or at least I thought I had. That idea was difficult to deny, but I also found it to be a bit depressing.

* * *

I looked into the repository next door, and found Akasaka-san looking around.

"Hello, Akasaka-san," I said. "Have you found anything?"

"Unfortunately, no, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Art tools like these would be of great interest to Tezuka-kun, but I can't see anything that would be useful to understanding our situation or escaping from here."

I nodded. Monokuma had been very careful to ensure that while we had breathable air, clean water, healthy food, shelter and possible murder weapons, we didn't have anything that would enable us to leave. As such, even if he

"I'm curious about something else," I said. "How are you holding up after the last trial?"

"I'm better than I was when I left the courtroom," Akasaka-san said. "That said, I still can't accept that the only way to get out of here is to kill someone, and that the only way to survive is by having a murderer executed."

"Neither can I," I said. "The stakes here are on a completely different level from anything we've dealt with before."

Akasaka-san nodded, and I remembered that while she and Kurogane-kun had very similar talents, their approach to competition couldn't be more different. Of course, while they hadn't gotten along, Akasaka-san had still been troubled by his death.

"Exactly," Akasaka-san said. "I remember being very worried about whether I could get into my old school- the one with the uniform that I'm now wearing- and uncomfortable with the idea that my friends were also my competition. In the end, though, we all made it in, and enjoyed a year at the same school, before I ended up going on to bigger and better things. Luckily, though, my friends were quite understanding- they were glad that I was being recognized for my skill in checkers, and promised to keep in touch."

"That's nice of them," I said. "My friends from the mahjong club felt the same way."

Akasaka-san smiled faintly in approval, then let off a long sigh.

"Of course, things are different here," Akasaka-san said. "Not only is it virtually impossible that more than one of us will get out alive, but _all_ of us doing so has already been rendered impossible. I can't give up on the idea of going back to my old life, so I know any of us might try to kill someone and graduate. After all, we sacrificed Sakuragi-kun so we could survive."

While none of us had talents that were especially suited to the killing game, people like Akasaka-san were also out of their element in terms of personality and temperament. Akasaka-san sounded like a kind older sister, a good friend and someone who believed in the value of cooperation, so it seemed profoundly unfair that she'd be placed in a game where she'd have to distrust her fellow players and fear for her life.

"I'd like to tell you that you're wrong, but I can't," I said. "Of course, Kurogane-kun, despite being the fixated on his previous life and how I'd slighted him in the past, told me he had no intentions of murdering anyone, not even me. Perhaps all of us are desperate to escape, but not everyone's willing to cross the line and commit murder."

Akasaka-san nodded, somewhat relieved. She hadn't gotten along with Kurogane-kun much better than I had, but hearing that someone like him had not given in to the temptation was reassuring.

"I hope you're right," Akasaka-san said, "I still believe what I said to Katsura-san last night. I'd like to leave with as many of you still alive as possible, and without anyone else's blood on my hands. I'd like to introduce Katsura-san to my siblings, and have her introduce me to hers. I'd like to be able to tell my siblings that I did my part to help the others to escape, and let it be a lesson to them- even in a desperate situation, you still should do what you know to be right."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "Maybe I can introduce you to my older sister."

"I'd be glad to meet her, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said, "just as I'm sure my siblings would be glad to meet you. I hope we have a deal."

We sealed the promise with a handshake, with Akasaka-san briefly offering her left hand before switching to her right. I didn't know if we could keep this promise any more than we could escape together, but even if both of them seemed like unrealistic pipe dreams, they were dreams I dearly hoped would come true.

* * *

The last destination of note I found on the second floor was the stairs, where Yuuki-san and Iwasawa-san were waiting, in front of yet another barred shutter.

"Hey, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san. "Just wondering, but is your old school three stories tall, too?"

"It is," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"Momo-chan was curious about it," Yuuki-san said, "since she attended class in a one-room schoolhouse."

"That's true, Miss Yuuki," Iwasawa-san said, "but while I haven't spent any time in a school this large, I've heard of multi-story schools before. I simply wanted to know how large Talent High School is."

"Most schools that I know of are three stories tall," I said, "one story for each year. Of course, they're a bit wider and may have adjoining buildings for the gymnasium and other facilities, whereas this school is quite a bit taller. When I visited Talent High School, I recall the school being five stories tall."

"Is it possible Monokuma is hiding something on the top floor?" Iwasawa-san said.

"That's possible," I said, "but I'm hoping we won't have to go that far. If one floor unlocks each time we clear a trial, then if we make it to the fifth floor, at least half of us will be dead by then."

Yuuki-san and Iwasawa-san turned completely white upon hearing that. The murder and execution that had occurred last night had been horrific, and the idea of that repeating three more times was unthinkable.

"That's horrible!" Yuuki-san said. "Besides, the exit's on the ground floor, right? So we shouldn't need to keep on going up."

"I understand where you're coming from," I said, "but as long as we're finding new places, we should search each of them for information."

"I know," Yuuki-san said. "I wish I was better at figuring things out, or at least could think of something to say apart from listing all the rooms and saying that the stairs to the next floor are blocked."

"I know the feeling," I said. "It's frustrating to think that all we got from our classmates' deaths was this little information, but I hope we'll find something more."

Noon was almost here, so we parted ways for now and headed back toward the first floor. For now, we could only share what we'd found, in the hopes that we'd learn more about the school.

* * *

We reconvened at noon, then proceeded to the dining hall to have lunch and discuss our findings. Most of the others had seen the same rooms I had, so I didn't hear anything especially new when we reported to the group.

"From what we have gathered, I can conclude the following," Mitamura-san said. "The second floor is much like the first, with additional classrooms and other facilities, even if most of the essential ones are in on the first floor and dorms. However, the stairs up to the third floor are still barred, as are the stairs to the second floor of the dorm room. It would seem that Monokuma-san is unwilling to let us access those locations, at least for now."

"Is it because we- well, most of us- got through the first class trial?" Inoue-kun said. "I really hope that our progress in this school isn't dependent on murders happening."

"What a coincidence," Hoshino-kun said. "Monokuma, the bastard who wants us to kill each other, just so happens to be the guy who restricts access to other floors. What kind of killing game organizer would he be if he didn't take the opportunity to encourage killing?"

Mitamura frowned disapprovingly.

"I have no desire to test that theory," Mitamura-san said. "Instead, we shall proceed as we did before- we will search for a way out and do what we can to prevent any murders."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Hoshino-kun said.

It was almost refreshing to see Hoshino-kun once again relentlessly criticizing Mitamura-san, but it only further drove home what we all knew at this point. Despite the second floor opening up, the status quo had not changed in any meaningful way. We were still trapped here, at the mercy of a robotic bear who wanted us to kill each other, and had no idea who would be the next to kill.

"I did, however, find something I would like to discuss with you in more detail," Mitamura-san said, "specifically, a vending machine in the faculty lounge. Each student can obtain one snack from it per day. Every time they purchase a snack, they have a chance to also obtain a key to a refrigerator that supposedly contains a murder weapon. If you find the key, please turn it over to me for safekeeping."

"Safekeeping?" Hoshino-kun said. "And how do I know you won't open the fridge to use whatever's inside to commit a murder?"

Mitamura-san's face briefly had an exasperated expression, as if to say "You again?" but she composed herself.

"There are two reasons, Hoshino-san," Mitamura-san said. "The first is that I am asking for the keys to the refrigerator, not the contents, since I do not intend to open it. The second is that if everyone knows I have the key, then I will be the primary suspect if the refrigerator opens and whatever is inside it is used to commit murder."

"Good point, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa-san said. "I'll let you know if I get my hands on the keys."

"Thank you, Iwasawa-san," Mitamura-san said. "If anyone else has something they wish to share, now is the time."

I glanced at Sensei, who nodded at me, then raised my hand.

"There's something else I'd like to bring up," I said. "I was talking with Yuuki-san yesterday, and we found out that her watch, a digital watch, has the date, but it's more than two years off."

"Yeah, I remember talking with Kaori-chan about that," Yuuki-san said, "but maybe I just set it wrong?"

"Maybe," I said, "but I recall that Sakuragi-kun had a similar watch. Perhaps realizing how long has passed in here made him so desperate to escape that he was willing to commit murder."

"That's a reasonable theory," Mizuhara-kun said, "not that we'll be able to ask him now."

"We won't need to," I said, "since I have additional proof that more time has passed than we realize. In the library, I found Sensei's tenth book, which was published since her arrival at the school, and which is based off an idea she was working on when she first arrived. In her acknowledgments, she mentions being a student here, and knowing me."

"Is it possible that this was faked?" Kagami-kun said.

"It would be a fairly elaborate forgery," Sensei said. "The cover art is credited to the artist who makes the illustrations for this series. The writing style is similar to mine. The book would have taken months to write and revise, and all this for something that they may not have expected us to find."

"Yeah, that looks pretty conclusive," Tezuka-kun said.

"This is quite troubling," Inoue-kun said. "If this much time has passed, then our assumption that the world outside was the way we left it does not necessarily hold true."

"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said, "but this may be a ruse by Monokuma-san to make us desperate to escape, and thus more likely to commit murder."

"I'm sure that's what he wants," Inoue-kun said, "but I don't think he made this up, since he has a good reason for it. If one of us is the mastermind, and we all knew each other in the past, maybe someone remembers something that would give us a clue as to who it was. If he wiped everyone's memories- or at least everyone besides the mastermind, everyone, being strangers to each other, are equally viable suspects, so it'll be harder to find out who the mastermind is."

I nodded in agreement. While I'd long wondered who the mastermind could be, I had no idea where to begin, since no one seemed especially suspicious. Furthermore, a part of me hesitated, knowing that the only obvious solution would be to kill the mastermind. If I was wrong, I would be responsible for the death of an innocent person, my own life would be forfeit, and Monokuma's killing game would continue.

"That's possible, Inoue-kun," Akasaka-san said. "Another possibility is that Monokuma knows we'd hesitate to kill our friends, so he had us revert to being strangers again."

Hoshino-kun shook his head.

"He doesn't need to go that far," Hoshino-kun said. "Anyone who's desperate enough will happily stab a friend in the back- possibly literally- for a ticket out of here. I think Sakuragi still would've bashed Kurogane's brains in even if he didn't know we'd all been here for two years."

"Necessary or not, Monokuma has already gone that far," Katsura-san said. "It would explain the gaps in our memories."

Everyone nodded. Perhaps there were many things we didn't know, but at this point, we'd confirmed that we'd lost our memories.

"I dunno about you guys," Yuuki-san said, "but this whole business of wiping memories away just like that is pretty scary. My grandma had Alzheimer's, and near the end of her life, she started forgetting a lot of stuff, like how I was in middle school, or how Grandpa was already dead. The last time I saw her, she... she said I was 'like' her granddaughter. If she only knew..."

As Yuuki-san choked back at a tear upon recalling this extremely painful memory, a chill went down my spine. Our experiences helped shape who we were, and if someone like Monokuma had the power to alter or erase them at will, he could potentially change who we were without us being able to do anything about it.

"What we have uncovered is certainly troubling," Mitamura-san said, "but as a new piece of information, it would seem that our search of the new floor was not in vain. Please continue the investigation on your own time and share anything you uncover with the rest of us."

Everyone nodded, as the meeting adjourned, but there was a sense of unease among all of us. Perhaps any information we would find could prove useful, but what other truths would we be forced to confront, and where would it ultimately lead us? Could it be that this school, despite being the grounds for a killing game, might be safer than the outside world at this point? Nothing was certain, and all we could do was press on, in search of the truth.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the favorites and follows.

While updates may be a bit slower starting with Chapter II, I've started posting classmates' Free Time Event series on the Side Stories story. The first one is **Shiro Kurogane** , whose Free Time Events reveal the sort of things he never got the chance to say to Miura in this fic.

The omake this time is from the students' time at Talent High School, before it was sealed and they lost their memories.

* * *

 _Omake_

After another long day at Talent High School, it was time to go home. Today, however, I set out for the bookstore at the local shopping mall, with Yuuki-san accompanying me.

"So, Yuuki-san, how was your day?" I said.

"Hmmm..." Yuuki-san said. "I slept through my alarm, and got a lecture from Reiko-chan at the gate. I totally bombed the math quiz today. The cafeteria was out of the sushi rolls I really like."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said.

"It's all right," Yuuki-san said. "A lousy day every now and then helps me appreciate the good ones, especially since my bad days aren't nearly as bad as a lot of people's."

I smiled and nodded. My day had been remarkably better on every account- I'd made it to school on time, done well on my quizzes, and had my favorite lunch- so I knew mentioning it to her would likely not be welcome. I could, however, take Yuuki-san's advice to heart, and appreciate my stroke of good fortune.

"By the way, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said, "you seem like you're in a good mood today."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I said. "Sae's holding a book signing today, and I'm happy for her."

"Yeah, sounds go- wait, you're using first names with her now?"

"We are. I accidentally called her by her first name, but then found out she was entirely fine with it- in fact, she'd been waiting for some time to ask me for permission to do the same thing, but hadn't worked up the nerve to do it."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, I'm pretty casual with first names myself- Shinichi-kun says I have that in common with his friends from America- but if you two think that it's something big and special, then I'm glad you're doing it."

I nodded. My calling Sae by her first name, and her reciprocating by calling me "Kaori" was a small gesture of intimacy, but proof of how far we'd come. It was one of the many small things I cherished, a precious memory I hoped would never be taken away.


	7. Chapter II, Part 2

After the meeting ended, Mitamura-san said we could spend the rest of the day as we wished, so I returned to my room. I took off my shoes, blazer and necktie and unbuttoned my shirt's top button- my preferred casual look when I was outside of school and wasn't quite ready to change- then lay down in bed to take a brief nap. My room didn't feel like home and wasn't completely safe, but a door with a lock on it was enough to give me some degree of peace of mind.

I woke up feeling more rested and alert, enough to notice a bag on my desk that I'd overlooked this morning. The bag- half white, half black and with a jagged red eye- had some Monocoins, and came with another note from Monokuma.

 _Miura-san,_

 _Here's a little present for making it through the first trial._

 _I'd tell you not to spend it all in one place, but the school store's the only place you can spend Monocoins, so I can't really say that, can I?_

 _Keep up the good work!_

 _Monokuma_

It wasn't hard to see why Monokuma was happy. If all of us besides Sakuragi-kun had been executed for failing to identify the blackened, then the killing game would have come to a fairly anticlimactic end. By keeping the killing game going, Monokuma could prolong our suffering, so it was in his best interests for us to successfully clear each trial.

Of course, even knowing all that, I couldn't help but be glad to be alive. Up until now, I'd taken my time for granted, and kept looking ahead to the future- whether as soon as tomorrow or as far ahead as college entrance exams- but last night, I didn't know whether I'd still be alive this morning. As long as we were still alive, there was a chance for us to escape to freedom and return to our old lives. Perhaps that wasn't enough reason to celebrate, but it was enough reason to be grateful.

After stopping in the bathroom for... a quick bathroom break, and to use the mirror to tie my necktie, I put on my blazer and shoes, then set out, perhaps the closest I was to being happy since yesterday.

* * *

I headed to the school store, and overheard Mizuhara-kun talking with Iwasawa-san.

"So you really can catch fish with a length of string tied to a stick and a hook on the end?" Mizuhara-kun said. "I'm kind of impressed, Iwasawa-san."

"Thank you, Mr. Mizuhara," Iwasawa-san said. "What about you?"

"I have a fairly good fishing rod," Mizuhara-kun said, "one that I bought while saving up my New Year's money. Fishing's more about skill than it is about equipment, but you need a halfway decent rod to be able to catch fish, just like how the Ultimate Programmer needs a decent computer to do coding."

"I get it," Iwasawa-san said. "Keeping up with technology sounds difficult, which is why many people in my village find things more comfortable there... and why they're fairly quite resistant to change."

At that point, the two of them noticed me, and stopped their conversation to greet me.

"Ah, good afternoon, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said, and Mizuhara-kun waved.

"Hi, Iwasawa-san, Mizuhara-kun," I said. "Have either of you gotten a bag like this from Monokuma?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"No, I haven't," Iwasawa-san said.

"Me neither," Mizuhara-kun said. "Why do you ask?"

"He gave me this bag some time after the last trial," I said, "apparently to congratulate me for doing so well."

"Ah," Mizuhara-kun said. "While I wouldn't go so far as to say that you're obligated to send him a thank you note, I think you've earned them."

"Thank you," I said. "Still, I think a lot of people played a role in the trial- Sensei made several important deductions, you saw Sakuragi-kun go to the laundry room, and even Sakuragi-kun himself ended up unwittingly incriminating himself. I feel like I should at least share some of this."

"Then here's an idea," Iwasawa-san said. "If you get anything you think someone else would like, you can give it as a gift."

I then started to spend my Monocoins. The first prize I got out of the machine was another small bear figurine, but this one's left side was yellow and tiger-striped, and he wore glasses and carried an abacus. Another prize was a "Wizard of Monomi" Blu-Ray- I gave it to Iwasawa-san, who was fascinated by what "2.5D" meant. Yet another was a snow globe with someone fishing on the shore of a lake- Mizuhara-kun pointed out that winter was the season for ice fishing, but liked it enough that he wasn't just being polite when he thanked me. The third item was a rice ball, which was almost two years past its expiration date. I was a bit worried about how good our other food was, but Mizuhara-kun commented that it wasn't a problem since "No one's gotten sick yet, right?" To be safe, though, I tossed it in the nearby trash can.

The last thing out of the machine was a full-sized magazine with an attractive woman wearing a bikini in a suggestive pose on the cover. I'd gotten used to unusually large prizes coming out of the machine, but I hadn't expected anything this "adult rated" in what was supposed to be a high school.

"Whoa," I said. "I had no idea that they had something like this in here."

"Like what?" Mizuhara-kun said.

"N-nothing!" I said, as I quickly hid the magazine behind my back, hoping that they didn't notice that I sounded more excited than scandalized.

"Is it possibly one of those porn magazines?" Iwasawa-san said. "The minister in my village often complains about them in his sermons, and we sometimes get together and burn any that make their way in."

I shrugged and nodded, as I took the magazine out of hiding and showed it to her and Inoue-kun. I was hesitant to admit to having obtained pornography, but it was better than acting too suspiciously, and giving the impression that I was hiding a murder weapon.

"Maybe it is," I said, "but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Anyway, Iwasawa-san, are you a Christian?"

"I am," Iwasawa-san said. "I've gone to church every Sunday since I was born, and spent the rest of the day reading the Bible after it lets out- to keep the Sabbath holy and take a break from field work. Last night, before I went to bed, I said my prayers, thanking God for allowing the fourteen of us to survive, and praying for the souls of Mr. Kurogane and Mr. Sakuragi."

I briefly pictured Iwasawa-san in a Sunday dress, and imagined she'd look quite nice in one.

"So you're pretty religious," I said, subconsciously hugging the magazine close to my chest. "It must be nice to believe that there's a higher power looking out for you- I wish I could say the same."

Iwasawa-san nodded, but seemed a bit concerned.

"Don't worry, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "I won't burn your magazine, or think worse of you for not sharing my faith... not when I'm starting to question it myself."

"What do you mean?" Mizuhara-kun said.

"Well, as you probably know, God has 'Thou shalt not kill,' as one of His Ten Commandments,'" Iwasawa-san said, "but what does He think about us voting to sentence Mr. Sakuragi to death so we could stay alive? Jesus said that he who is without sin should cast the first stone, but all of us voted to execute Mr. Sakuragi, didn't we? Those are only a few of the questions I can think of, so I don't know how I can be a good Christian while in here."

While I still grieved for Sakuragi-kun's death and regretted the role I played in it, I had to admit that it was better than the alternatives. If we hadn't convicted Sakuragi-kun, then the rest of us would have died. Refusing to vote would essentially have amounted to giving up my life simply because I was too cowardly to condemn someone. Voting for someone else would have been an abdication of responsibility, as well as potentially risking arriving at the wrong verdict. There were no "right" choices for us when it came time to vote- just the one that minimized the death toll.

"I don't know what to say," Mizuhara-kun said. "I suppose God knows we're all sinners, and just wants us to be the best people we can."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Mr. Mizuhara," Iwasawa-san said, "but I do agree that it's my duty to be as good of a person as I can. Unfortunately, I don't know much about what that involves, apart from not killing anyone, and doing what I can for the best interests of our group. All I can do is trust Miss Mitamura."

Iwasawa-san had always seemed as though she felt a bit out of place outside of her village, and only now was I starting to understand how much. She'd probably always relied on the guidance of various authority figures- her parents, her minister, possibly any teachers she had and many others- so now, it was only natural that she'd see Mitamura-san as an authority figure. If she couldn't count on Mitamura-san, who could she count on?

"I don't think so," Mizuhara-kun said. "I'm not saying I don't trust Mitamura-san- I just think she's as fallible as everyone else. Rather than rely on any of us, you should think for yourself, and come up with your own answers. If they're the same as the Bible or what Mitamura-san says, that's fine, just as long as they're what you choose."

"I agree, Mizuhara-kun," I said, "but to add what he's saying, Iwasawa-san, I think that you should feel free to talk with us about what's on your mind. Like he said, none of us has all the answers, but we can figure things out if we work together."

"Thank you, Miss Miura, Mr. Mizuhara," Iwasawa-san said. "I'll keep that in mind."

I nodded, then excused myself. Perhaps Iwasawa-san and Mizuhara-kun were not judgmental people, but I had no desire to let anyone else see me with that magazine.

* * *

I quickly returned to my room and stashed the magazine under my mattress. Within minutes, I heard a knock on my door and nearly jumped out of my skin.

"It's Katsura. Do you have a minute, Miura-san?"

"Coming!" I said, then walked over to open the door, and saw Katsura-san there. "Oh, good afternoon, Katsura-san; what brings you here?"

"I'm here to share some news from Mitamura-san," Katsura-san said. "After dinner tomorrow, at 8 PM, she will be holding a seminar on etiquette- how to bow, proper use of honorifics and formal speech, among other things. It will be held on the first floor, in the classroom closest to the dorms."

"Is it mandatory?" I said.

"Not at all," Katsura-san said. "In fact, between us, she intended it to be for Iwasawa-san's benefit. Iwasawa-san wished to learn more about proper etiquette, so Mitamura-san set up the class so that Iwasawa-san would not feel alone, and recruited me as the first other student."

"I see," I said. "It's a nice concept, so I'm interested in coming along."

"Thank you," Katsura-san said. "I would like to let you know, though, that there are rules. Participants must show up on time, show respect to Mitamura-san- or rather, Mitamura- _sensei-_ as a teacher and use formal speech in class."

"Wow, she's taking this seriously," I said.

"To be honest, I sympathize with her," Katsura-san said. "If I were your leader, whether as a class representative, a teacher, or a superior at a company, I would be similarly strict, simply to enforce a certain level of discipline, and to maintain a certain professional distance from my subordinates."

I nodded, but noticed a somber tone to Katsura-san's voice. It was clear that she probably didn't only refuse to put her candidacy forward out of respect for Mitamura-san- she clearly never wanted to be leader herself.

"That's understandable," I said. "Out of all of us, you're probably the best-suited to work at a big company- in terms of appearance, manners and business savvy."

"Maybe," Katsura-san said noncommittally. "I suppose I seem that way because I've only let everyone here see my serious and professional side- even Akasaka-san, who's possibly the closest person I have to a friend- largely because I'm afraid of how they'll react if I assume too much familiarity."

I nodded. While I could probably ask Katsura-san for permission to call her "Komaki," in which the worst-case scenario would involve a polite refusal, I didn't feel comfortable just yet. Part of that was nervousness, while part of it was a desire to keep things relatively formal for now.

"I feel the same way, Katsura-san," I said.

"That said," Katsura-san said, "while excessive familiarity can be inappropriate, so can excessive formality. I believe being well-dressed involves dressing appropriately for the occasion, not just dressing nicely, so I wouldn't wear an evening gown while doing gardening any more than I'd wear a T-shirt and overalls to a black tie event."

"Ah, interesting," I said. "I hadn't expected you to wear clothes like that."

"They may not be appropriate for school or formal events, but they have their advantages," Katsura-san said. "They're comfortable, durable, and I don't have to worry about anyone looking at my panties while I'm climbing the stairs."

"Good thinking," I said. "As for me, I like going somewhat casual, but still presentable..."

We talked for a little bit about clothes, until Katsura-san decided it was time to go and track down everyone else who hadn't heard of Mitamura-san's etiquette seminar. I realized that while I'd learned a great deal about my classmates in these past few days, I'd only seen one aspect of most of them- I hadn't seen Iwasawa-san dressed up for church, Katsura-san in casual attire, Mitamura-san around her friends or Yuuki-san showing respect to an adult authority figure. Perhaps those hidden facets of them would eventually surface.

* * *

In the evening, I got the magazine out and began to read it. The scantily-clad woman on front was only the tip of the iceberg, and there were many others inside- all completely naked, some pictured alone, and others in... twos or threes. As for what they were doing... let's just say that the cover picture was fairly tame compared to what was inside.

What? Did you think I was going to give you a detailed description about what I was reading? Or where my hand was when I was reading it? You'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit self-conscious about this, since I'd have been in big trouble if my parents or sister caught me with a magazine like this, especially... in a compromising position.

After finishing, I lay back on my bed, thinking about my parents. Both of them were strongly against pornography, especially my mother, who considered it exploitative of women. I couldn't argue with her, but I wondered if she forbade me from looking at naked women to keep me from realizing that I was a pervert... and a lesbian.

The good news was that if two years had passed since I'd come here, I was now eighteen years old, and thus technically old enough to look at porn. The bad news was that if I was eighteen, I was past the phase at which I could have "romantic" friendships with other girls, as practice for one day having a boyfriend. While most of my female schoolmates had boys they had crushes on, and a few had boyfriends, I couldn't convincingly feign interest in boys any more than I could pretend to give a dissertation on quantum physics.

It wasn't as though I hadn't known about my attraction to girls before- I'd simply chosen to ignore it and not act on it, in the vain hope that it'd someday go away. After all, I'd given up many things as I got older, like reading picture books, riding a tricycle or wading in the kiddie pool. It hadn't entirely been up to me, but when the time came, I was ready to do it, and never once thought of going back.

Of course, some things aren't so easy to give up. In elementary school, my family moved to an apartment that didn't allow pets, and had to give our cat to some of our neighbors- I begged my parents to convince the landlord to make an exception or find another apartment, but to no avail. In middle school, I was forced to accept that becoming a writer wasn't just a dream, but one that wasn't even worth a serious attempt. Now, in high school, I realized that my preferences solely lay with my own gender, but even if I chose to confess to the girl I loved and she accepted, the backlash would likely bring us little but misery. I knew what the "right" thing to do in each case was, but also knew that it wouldn't make me happy.

For now, though, I realized I'd only been forced to accept what I'd known for a long time, not learn what to do with it. For the moment, I decided to start with ridding myself of such thoughts, starting with their source.

* * *

I stepped out of my room and saw Mitamura-san making her rounds in the dorm hallway, likely trying to make sure we were all in our rooms. It was about half an hour before the night time announcement, roughly a day after Kurogane-kun's murder, so Mitamura-san's apparent concern was justified and appropriate.

"Oh, good evening, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "Do you need something?"

"Ah, Mitamura-san," I said. "You're just the person I was looking for."

"For whom I was looking," Mitamura-san said. "But please, go on."

I nodded and showed Mitamura-san the magazine.

"I found a pornographic magazine in the Monomono Machine," I said. "I was hoping you'd know what to do with it."

I handed Mitamura-san the magazine, at which point she opened it up to a random page, narrowed her eyes in disgust, and slammed it shut immediately.

"Thank you for turning this in to me, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said, "since I most certainly know what to do with such a magazine. This filth is worse than garbage, and as such, deserves to be incinerated."

I sheepishly nodded. The die was cast, and it was too late to ask her to return the magazine or admit that I'd actually read it. This decision was irrevocable, just as I'd intended, but for some reason, I didn't feel sure about it.

"You're welcome," I said, "but is it really _that_ awful?"

"It is," Mitamura-san said. "It serves no purpose other than to fan the flames of people's lust, while those involved shamelessly expose themselves for all to see. Worse, still, both of them are women, indulging in their forbidden desires. If you find any more material like this, please turn it over to me."

I solemnly nodded. Mitamura-san's perspective, while harsh, was probably the socially acceptable one. She spoke with passion and conviction, fueled by the belief that most people considered her perspective to be right, while I kept my own desires secret, believing them to be shameful. For a moment, I envied her confidence and belief in herself- admittedly fueled by how many others shared her beliefs, but had nothing more to say.

"I will," I said. "By the way, I'm interested in coming to your etiquette seminar. I'm fairly confident in my manners, but I'm interested in anything you could do to further the sense of community in here."

"I am glad to hear this," Mitamura-san said. "As long as you follow the rules, I am certain you will be a welcome addition to our class."

"Thank you," I said. "I'm turning in for the night, so I'll see you tomorrow, Mitamura-san."

"Good night, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said.

As Mitamura-san headed straight for the incinerator, I returned to my room, less than sure about my decision to hand the magazine over. It felt as though I was taking the easy way out, as well as the one that I wouldn't be able to take back later if I ended up regretting it. Still, what was done was done, so I returned to my room, changed into my sweatsuit, and went to bed.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _There's two kinds of people in this world- the people who come up with new ideas and the people who copy other ideas._

 _The former's all well and good, but they're not the ones that get a trend going- it's the people who jump on the bandwagon._

 _I mean, a Photoshopped image with a funny caption doesn't become a meme unless a lot of people repost it, right?_

 _You can set up a protest march if you like, but if no one shows up, you're just some schmuck with a sign who's taking a walk, aren't you?_

 _As the saying goes, "Lead, follow or get out of the way," and there's a lot of openings for followers. Sign up today!_

* * *

 _Day 5_

At breakfast, Mitamura-san had an announcement to make.

"Everyone, I would like to ask for your cooperation in a matter relating to your safety and well-being," Mitamura-san said. "If you find any contraband, such as drugs, alcohol, pornography or other such things, please turn it over to me so that I can dispose of it."

Hoshino-kun chortled.

"Everyone needs a hobby, I guess," Hoshino-kun said. "Just remember- you're taking my porn mag from. My. Cold. Dead. Hands."

Hoshino-kun's remark, while flippant in tone, took on an uncomfortable new meaning in a "game" in which the players were encouraged to kill each other- and one of us already had. Mitamura-san, however, didn't let it get to her.

"I see," Mitamura-san said. "Are you perhaps admitting to possessing pornography, Hoshino-san?"

"Who knows?" Hoshino-kun said. "But if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."

I couldn't tell whether Hoshino-kun actually did have porn, but he seemed to enjoy leaving Mitamura-san in suspense.

"Anyway, while I do want to get out of this dump as much as the next guy, I have to admit there are some perks to being in a place with no adult supervision," Hoshino-kun said. "I can do all the things that my parents or the teachers here wouldn't let me. That's why I'm actually kind of amazed that so many of you would actually approve of someone like her babysitting us."

Hoshino-kun had a knack for making uncomfortable but true points, almost enough for it to be his second Ultimate talent, and this one hit especially close to home. In this school, populated by sixteen- now fourteen- high school students and one robotic bear, there were no laws, minimal rules and far fewer consequences if word of our less than socially acceptable behavior got out. Mitamura-san was right to fear what would happen if we abandoned all semblance of discipline, so I could understand why she'd want to make this school as close to an actual one as possible. On the other hand, I couldn't agree with her cracking down on our relatively harmless vices, especially since she considered homosexuality to be one of them.

"I think we need someone to do that," Iwasawa-san said. "Papa was always a bit uncomfortable about me coming out here and going to school by myself, because I'd be exposed to the things Miss Mitamura wants to destroy. He felt a little better after hearing that I'd be looked after while I was at the school, though."

Hoshino-kun shot Iwasawa-san a somewhat dismissive glance.

"Ok, does anyone _besides_ the teacher's pet want to weigh in?" Hoshino-kun said.

"I do, Sora-kun," Yuuki-san said. "Reiko-chan's kind of strict and I don't always agree with her, but I think she's the right girl for the job- or at least a heck of a lot more right than I could be. There's always a few rules that are tough for me to follow, but growing up's about learning what you should and shouldn't do by having them be what you can and can't do."

"Wise words, Yuuki-san," Mitamura-san said. "I would like to stress that your cooperation on this matter is purely voluntary, but will be appreciated. There is little that is civilized about this school or this killing game, but if we endeavor to behave in a civilized manner, we may be able to prevent any more murders."

"Do what you want," Hoshino-kun said. "It's fine if you have your scavenger hunt for porn or your silly little manners class, as long as you leave me out of them."

Mitamura-san then took the opportunity to announce her seminar, but hardly any of us seemed interested, so she instead began asking us what we'd discovered on our own time. Now that we'd cleared the class trial and investigated the second floor, we could once again get back to the task of finding a way out.

With Mitamura-san once again giving us our orders, it almost felt as though things had gone back to normal after Kurogane-kun and Sakuragi-kun's deaths, but this wasn't entirely true. While our lives had always been in danger, the murder and the execution two nights ago had forced us to realize the danger, by showing that any one of us _could_ kill, and that any losers in Monokuma's game would be executed. Still, I understood Mitamura-san's desire for at least a semblance of order, even if I wasn't entirely fond of how she went about doing it.

* * *

After breakfast, I headed to the library once again, and found that Sensei was already there, reading a magazine. Upon closer investigation, it had a picture of a buff man in a swimsuit on the cover, and I recognized it as an issue of a weekly seinen manga magazine.

"Hello, Miura-san," Sensei said.

"Oh, hello, Sensei," I said. "What are you reading?"

"Breakneck Canyon," Sensei said. "It's a manga series by Sayuri Sasaki, our school's Ultimate Manga Artist. It's popular for its excellent art, good dialogue and character development, and the realistic and emotional depiction of a romantic relationship between two gay men... not to mention the beautifully drawn and explicit gay sex scenes. I've heard good things about it, but Father would never let me read it."

"My parents feel the same way," I said. "Anyway, are you looking at it for the investigation?"

"That's part of the reason," Sensei said. "Apparently, Sasaki-san- or rather, Sasaki- _senpai-_ was a year ahead of us in school, making her part of Talent High School's last graduating class. By reading her work, I was hoping to find out whether there were any clues as to what happened in the outside world during that time."

"Any luck?" I said.

Sensei shook her head.

"Unfortunately, no," Sensei said, "since manga artists don't have much interest in reporting on the news. The last issue, released at the end of March in what was probably our first year at Talent High School, says one of Sasaki-senpai's assistants passed away under mysterious circumstances, but doesn't say more than that."

"I see," I said. "I'd assumed that there had been some sort of catastrophic event that drove the outside world insane- which is why no one's trying to rescue us. Of course, even in ideal times, people often die suddenly, even violently."

Sensei nodded solemnly. There was enough crime in Aiko Aizawa's home city of Tokyo that the only fantastical part of the story was her, a high school student without any training, being able to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"I will be honest with you, though," Sensei said. "I'm also reading it for personal pleasure, and not just for the story. I hope you don't mind."

I nodded. If the main couple had been two women, rather than two men, I would have asked for a copy, assuming I could have done so in a way without letting Sensei discover my true intentions. For some reason, I was worried more about how she'd react to my coming out of the closet than I was about Mitamura-san, who had already expressed distaste for same-sex relationships..

"Not at all," I said. "Fair warning, though- you probably shouldn't let Mitamura-san catch you reading that or..."

I stopped short as I heard footsteps, and then whirled around to see who was making the sound- none other than Mitamura-san.

"Or else what, Miura-san?" Mitamura-san said.

I cursed myself for not being more aware of my surroundings in a killing game. Of course, not only was Mitamura-san not the type to commit murder, much less in the heat of the moment, but she wouldn't do it with a witness around, lest she end up having to kill two people, rather than one.

"Oh, hello, Mitamura-san," Sensei said.

"Hello, Edoogawa-san," Mitamura-san said. "You have some... interesting... reading matter there."

Mitamura-san's tone made her disdain for Sensei's apparently poor use of her time apparent, even if her words did not. Nevertheless, Sensei wasn't at all bothered, or at least didn't show it.

"It's a gay romance manga by a young woman who's a year ahead of us at Talent High School," Sensei said. "I was looking at it to see whether it had any clues as to what transpired in the outside world during the last two years."

"I see," Mitamura-san said. "Can I please have a copy? I... would like to investigate it in more detail."

"Certainly," Sensei said. "I was just finished with mine."

"Thank you," Mitamura-san said. "I will let you know if I discover anything."

As Mitamura-san walked off, I chuckled once she was out of earshot.

"You know," I said, "I never thought Mitamura-san would have interests like that. She gave a rather scathing condemnation of the girlie magazine I showed her last night, then went off to incinerate it."

"She did?" Sensei said. "That's too bad. I was hoping to take a look at it, too."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was reading that magazine, and enjoyed it so much that I felt ashamed of myself. I took the easy way out and got rid of it."

"What's shameful about that?" Sensei said. "The fact that it's pornography? Or the fact that you were turned on by people of the same gender?"

"D-does it matter?" I said, realizing too late that my attempt to avoid admitting to either of them more or less amounted to admitting to both.

"Not to _me_ ," Sensei said. "I can hardly judge you for an interest in the same gender when I'm also interested in girls."

Realizing it was too late to hide anything that would indicate my own sexuality, I decided to change the subject and ask Sensei about hers.

"So... you're bisexual?" I said, trying not to let my gaiety- no pun intended- show.

Sensei nodded.

"That's true," Sensei said. "Of course, while I'm attracted to boys and girls, I have yet to find anyone I love. My lack of experience with romantic matters is part of the reason why Aiko's still single after nine- I mean ten- books and midway through her second year of high school. The other parts are that she's too busy with her detective work to have much time for love, and romance wouldn't fit the genre."

"I see," I said. "Then is it possible that you could choose to fall in love with a boy?"

Sensei shook her head.

"Not necessarily," Sensei said. "I may not know much about the subject, Miura-san, but I don't think you can choose who you love- only whether you act on your feelings. I haven't come to such a moment in my life, but I'd like to think that I'd choose to act on them if it is prudent, so I believe you would too."

It was comforting to know that I wasn't alone, and that Sensei was willing to listen and give advice without judging. I still had to worry about what my parents, my sister, my friends and society as a whole would feel about my being in love with a girl- to say nothing of the girl in question- but for now, I wasn't so sure it was wrong.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "Thank you, Sensei."

"That's my line, Miura-san," Sensei said. "You're probably the first person I've talked with about this, simply because you're one of the few I can trust unconditionally. Besides, it's one thing we have in common."

A part of me felt happy to hear that, but I wasn't sure why. While Sensei had once again proven to be somewhat more lonely and distant from others than I had imagined, she also trusted me, which was pleasing to hear. On the other hand, it was a bit disappointing that Sensei wasn't much more courageous about admitting that part of herself than I was.

"By the way, Sensei," I said, "I'm going to the etiquette seminar tonight- are you interested in coming?"

Sensei shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer, Miura-san," Sensei said, "but I most likely won't go. I consider myself proficient in showing good manners to my contemporaries while keeping them at a distance, to the point at which I'm a bit more comfortable being formal with others. I tend to err on the side of politeness, largely because I'm a bit scared that any attempt to get closer will be rebuffed, simply because the other person doesn't feel the same way."

It was a bit depressing hearing Sensei admit that, not the least of which because she might have had me in mind. Still, I wasn't one to judge her, especially not when I was still keeping a certain distance from everyone else, including her.

"That's understandable," I said. "I'm probably somewhat similar in that regard."

Sensei nodded.

"True," Sensei said. "Yuuki-san has some impressive confidence, to be able to call everyone by their first names the way she does. I tried doing the same at her request, but could only stutter out 'Ami' with a belated '-san' on the end. She just laughed it off and told me to call her whatever I felt comfortable with."

We talked for a little while about the others, but all the while, I was mainly thinking about Sensei. All this time, I'd been learning new things about her, enough to fundamentally change my perception of her- she wasn't just a talented author, but also a somewhat shy, if polite, girl with few friends and no lovers. In spite of that, my fundamental feelings about her remained unchanged, save for a feeling of joy as every barrier between us fell. Perhaps Sensei was used to keeping people at a distance, but I hoped to gradually get closer to her, know her better, and perhaps one day, earn the right to call myself her friend.

* * *

I found Kagami-kun searching the repository, evidently trying to see if any of the tools there could break down the walls. Apparently, the only thing he'd found was a poster of Akira Azuki, a somewhat androgynous girl who was the Ultimate Actress. The only use I could think of for the poster would be to cover up the hole when he wasn't working on it.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "I don't suppose you're having any luck trying to dig through the walls than I am?"

"Hello, Kagami-kun," I said. "I actually just wanted to ask you if you were interested in coming to the etiquette seminar."

"Sorry, I'll pass," Kagami-kun said. "I'm not really interested."

"I see," I said. "To be honest, I'm mainly interested in participating in it as a group-building activity, rather than to teach manners."

"I can respect that," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, considering the nature of the killing game, any one of the people in the class could potentially kill- or be killed by- one of the other students. Encouraging a little team spirit is a good thing, but anyone who's trying to graduate is willing to sacrifice the rest of us, so I don't think spending time with the others is going to change that."

"You have a point," I said. "Is that why you're a bit distant from the others?"

"Maybe," Kagami-kun said, "but I'm not the only one. Mizuhara-kun and Sugiura-san don't talk much to the others, Hoshino-kun distrusts and antagonizes everyone else, and while Mitamura-san is our leader, she doesn't really think of us as her friends. They're keeping a certain distance from the others to survive... and that might involve plotting a murder."

"That's kind of harsh," I said.

"It's how things are here," Kagami-kun said. "Hoshino-kun's fairly blunt about that, and he offends many people, but he also raises uncomfortable points about our reality."

"Maybe," I said, "but as naive as it may sound, I believe that we don't have to kill each other."

"You might be right," Kagami-kun said. "In the end, while Monokuma definitely is pushing us to kill each other, it's ultimately our decision whether or not to do so. Sakuragi-kun gave in to the temptation and is responsible for his own actions, but I honestly think you won't make the same mistake."

I nodded appreciatively, but knew that this wasn't solely about me. Each of us faced the same temptations, pressures and fears, so each of us had to decide whether to escape as a group or try to graduate alone. Even if those who wanted to graduate were willing to let the rest of us die to do so, I had no desire for any more death- not even theirs. For this reason, I hoped that now that the first trial had shown what was at stake ad proven that we could see through all deceptions to find the truth, there would never be another murder.

* * *

After dinner, I wandered into the kitchen and saw Sugiura-san washing dishes, wearing an apron she'd presumably taken from the warehouse.

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Sugiura-san said. "What brings you here?"

"I thought you could use a little help," I said. "I have a little time to spare before the etiquette seminar."

"Thank you," Sugiura-san said.

I took off my blazer, rolled up my sleeves and started washing the dishes. I wasn't as fast of a worker as Sugiura-san was, but she seemed to appreciate having another set of hands for her task, as long as said hands didn't break any dishes.

"By the way, Sugiura-san," I said. "Have you considered attending the seminar, or do you feel you have a good grasp on your manners already?"

Sugiura-san shook her head.

"The short answer is that I'm not interested," Sugiura-san said, "but would you like to hear a longer answer?"

"Yes, please," I said.

Sugiura-san remained silent a moment, while cleaning a glass. After putting it onto the dish rack, she spoke.

"Good manners _are_ important in my line of work," Sugiura-san said, "but I've found that they're more for the benefit of the people using him than those they deal with. If you're polite with a difficult customer, they'll be less likely to complain. If you offer a humble apology after your superior calls you out on a mistake, they might show you mercy. If you remain on decent terms with your coworkers, they're more likely to treat you well."

"You have a point," I said. "Part of the reason why parents and other adult authority figures teach good behavior is because it's better for you."

"I know," Sugiura-san said, "but at the same time, Mitamura-san does not acknowledge how being a dutiful and respectful girl has benefited her, simply speaking in terms of duty and acting for the benefit of others. As such, I do not fully trust her, which is why I did not vote for her."

"Neither did Kurogane-kun or Hoshino-kun," I said. "Still, I'm a bit surprised to hear you admit that."

"I probably came off as a little jealous," Sugiura-san said, "since Mitamura-san is the kind of student I wish I could be. After all, do you think I'd settle for being a waitress, even an Ultimate one, if I had what it took to get a better education?"

I shook my head. A Talent High School education was supposed to open doors, but now that I thought about it, the students who barely passed high school probably wouldn't do well in college, even if their admission was guaranteed. Perhaps all Sugiura-san's Ultimate Waitress talent would earn her was a prestigious career as a waitress.

"Not really," I said, "but in any case, I don't think you're wrong not to trust Mitamura-san. I just think that as our leader, she's an important part of this group. I might not always agree with her, but I'll do what I can to support her."

"Fair enough," Sugiura-san said. "Mitamura-san might not be the best person for the job, but now that she has the job, I don't want her to fail."

A few minutes later, I checked my watch.

"I'm sorry, Sugiura-san, but I have to get going," I said. "The seminar should start soon."

"I see," Sugiura-san said. "Thank you for your help, Miura-san- I can handle the rest."

I nodded, said "You're welcome," and put on my blazer before leaving. Even assuming that Sugiura-san had thanked me out of social obligation, or the hope that I would help out again, she had made the conscious choice to do so. As distant as she seemed, she wasn't necessarily a bad person, and I hoped to get to know her better.

* * *

I headed over to the etiquette seminar. There was only one person besides myself, Iwasawa-san and Katsura-san there- Yuuki-san, of all people. Much to my surprise, she wasn't wearing a cheerleader outfit, but one of Mitamura-san's uniforms, since the two girls were about the same size.

"Thank you for coming, Miura-san," Yuuki-san said. "Class is about to start."

I was completely shocked to hear that.

"All right," I said.

Mitamura-sensei started off the class with an explanation of the rules, which was essentially the same as what I'd heard from Katsura-san, but all four of us stayed quiet and listened. By agreeing to come, we'd also agreed to Mitamura-san's rules, which was why she'd made this optional. People who were dragged here against their will most likely would prove disruptive, so Mitamura-san was willing to settle for a small class, so long as it was orderly.

Mitamura-sensei then had us go through a few different exercises, such as introductions, offering business cards, and other such things. Perhaps they'd prove useful for job interviews, networking events or other such things, but we had little use for them now. Of course, considering that Iwasawa-san didn't know the first thing about those sorts of unwritten rules, this would likely prove useful if she escaped and one day sought employment in our modern society.

Eventually, Mitamura-sensei had us converse among each other as though we'd just met. For most of us, it wasn't at all different from how we usually were- people who had met less than a week ago and forgotten meeting before that- and even Yuuki-san was surprisingly willing to adjust. As for Mitamura-sensei, she stood at a distance, watching us but not joining in or reacting to anything we said. In this class, she was our teacher as well as our leader, and believed that actively taking part in this conversation would amount to fraternizing with us.

After a while of going through a few exercises, I decided to ask Yuuki-san about her change of attitude.

"I'm a bit surprised, Yuuki-san," I said. "I didn't think you were the type to be so formal."

"I can be when I want to be, Miura-san," Yuuki-san said, "just like how I wear a uniform like this to class. It's just a bit tiring, that's all."

"That's fair enough," I said. "I'm personally a bit more comfortable being a little formal at first. Of course, I'm used to it because I'm generally expected to practice good manners in most situations."

"So am I, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Of course, there are many times when we cannot simply do as we please, and must conform to others' expectations. Mitamura-san probably understands this better than most of us do."

"That's true," Iwasawa-san said, "and I understand that myself. Perhaps I will always seem a bit out of place among all of you, but I must do what I can to fit in, by acting the same way everyone else does. Of course, understanding the principle is one thing, but actually acting on it is another, which is why I am grateful to Miss Mita- I mean, Mitamura-sensei for teaching me."

"Old habits die hard, don't they?" I said. "I understand your concerns, Iwasawa-san, but I believe that each of us has a certain level of tolerance for each other's differences. Maybe you'll have to act like a well-mannered city girl sometimes, someday, but around us, you can be yourself."

"I agree," Yuuki-san said. "Of course, while I know how to be polite if I need to, I attended this class to show Mitamura-sensei that I can be serious and polite if I want- or need- to be. I'm also hoping that she'll be a bit more casual with me, since I'd like to be friends with her, so I'm making compromises in the hopes that she'll do the same.."

I was a bit surprised to hear that. I'd long accepted that there were some people who were too different to ever be friends, like Kurogane-kun and Akasaka-san, or Hoshino-kun and Mitamura-san, but it seemed Yuuki-san didn't feel the same way.

"I hope so, too," I said. "Just promise me one thing, Yuuki-san- that when you're done with this class, you'll go back to calling me 'Kaori-chan,' all right?"

Yuuki-san smiled, apparently so happy that she temporarily forgot her agreement to be formal.

"You bet, Kaori-chan!" Yuuki-san said, then clapped her hands over her mouth. "I-I mean, Miura-san."

"There is no need to correct yourself, Yuuki-san," Mitamura-sensei said. "You and the others have already demonstrated that you understand what I have taught you. By attending class, following the rules and demonstrating your knowledge, the four of you pass this class."

"Really?" Yuuki-san said. "Thanks, Reiko-chan!"

"You are welcome," Mitamura-san said. Perhaps it would be best if you could be this polite all the time, but what matters is that you can be that way when you need to be."

I honestly hadn't expected to hear that Mitamura-san had such a perspective on manners- she struck me as being just as formal with her peers as she was with her betters, just like my sister was. Of course, while Yuuki-san would probably show up at breakfast the next morning wearing her cheerleader uniform and using our first names, I had to wonder what it would take for Mitamura-san, or the other similarly guarded members of our group to reveal the hidden facets of their personalities.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Everyone's always saying how you need to keep up with the latest tech._

 _Twenty years ago, you had to learn how to surf the internet, and these days, you should know how to do it on your phone._

 _But in my opinion, the mark of a real man is getting things done with as low tech as possible._

 _A guy who kills an entire squad of soldiers using just a sword is cooler than a guy who does it with a gun, and a guy who does it with his bare hands is even cooler._

 _So come on! Try and read this fic in print, the way it was meant to be read!_

* * *

"Real man, huh?" I murmured to myself. "Does it apply to women, too, or do you not expect as much from females?"

"Oh, I do have expectations," Monokuma said, "that you lovely boys and girls do your part in this killing game."

I woke up upon hearing Monokuma's voice As I sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I realized I wasn't imagining things- Monokuma was standing next to my bed.

"Monokuma!" I said. "What are you doing in my room at this hour? I swear I locked the door!"

"My, my, Miura-san," Monokuma said in a chiding tone, one that made him sound like he was trying to be my dad. "Is that how you greet Santa Claus when he shows up to give gifts?"

"First, I haven't believed in Santa since the Christmas I was in second grade. Second, back when I did, I was told you have to be in bed when he's visiting. Third, even if I don't know the date, there's only about a fourth of a percent chance that it's actually Christmas."

"Details, details. Anyway, the important thing is I've got a present for you to spice this killing game up. Judging from how badly Sakuragi-kun bungled his one shot at getting away with murder, it seems like you need help with the strategy aspect, so I included the details about one of your classmates' weaknesses on this here tablet. You might get a bit of information on how best to kill someone, or some dirty secret that the person in question might kill to keep hidden."

"Gee, thanks. I'd rather you didn't."

"Oh, don't be like that. To keep things fair, I gave one to all of your classmates, and this tablet also tells you who's got yours."

"I see. And what if I don't watch mine?"

"If you don't watch it in the next 24 hours, or intentionally destroy it at any point, I'll take it away and give it to someone else. I've got people to see, so enjoy!"

With that, Monokuma vanished.

I saw a small notebook on my table, one that I hadn't noticed while Monokuma was in the room. It was the size of a small PDA, and could easily fit in the palm of my hand. The only visible button on it was for the power, and there were no apparent plugs or cords. It didn't seem very well-designed, and would probably end up as a paperweight once the battery expired.

 _"Weakness Video," the voiceover said in Monokuma's own voice, as it showed his face._

Next, I saw a somewhat cartoonish depiction of Sensei, slumped over her desk, her stomach rumbling, while a shadowy figure stood behind her, wielding a knife.

 _Edogawa-san is a passionate young writer- so passionate, in fact, that she forgets to eat sometimes. Catch her when she's hungry, and she's easy pickings._

I couldn't help but laugh. Apart from how Sensei was the person I was least likely to want to kill, the weakness didn't sound very helpful. My target would probably have to be literally starving to death before I'd get a significant advantage, and considering that food wasn't a problem here, Sensei would probably keep herself well-fed.

 _Now who has your weakness? Let me see..._

As an answer, the screen then showed a photo of Yuuki-san in her cheerleading outfit, with her name written in Kanji beneath it.

 _Ami Yuuki!_

Surprisingly enough, I felt relieved. Yuuki-san was a nice person, if not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I was glad someone like her had my weakness. I couldn't imagine what sort of weakness or secret I had, but I doubted that Yuuki-san had what it took to kill me.

Of course, there was nothing pleasant about this development. Monokuma had realized that this time, we'd need a little extra push to kill each other, so he was giving us information that would potentially give us the means to kill someone, as well as possibly a motive. Sakuragi-kun wasn't especially good plotting a murder, but even his failed attempt had resulted in his own death, along with Kurogane-kun's, so all it took was one of us becoming desperate enough to graduate.

I slept uneasily until my alarm went off, knowing that as long as we were trapped in this school, we'd never be free of the killing game.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

This chapter was fairly short, but had some significant character development, as well as the revelation of the first motive. A major theme in this Chapter is various characters' hidden depths, and how the person they are on the inside may be different from the one they present to others.

Mitamura has a lot of focus in this chapter, but it's partly because, as leader, she's on everyone's minds- the other students are often starting to re-evaluate her now that the killings have begun. In Miura's case, she still believes in the importance of having a strong leader, but is starting to question Mitamura.

Next up is another daily life chapter, showing the characters' responses to the motive.


	8. Chapter II, Part 3

_Day 6_

I got to the dining hall a bit early, and saw Yuuki-san sitting with Sensei. Since Yuuki-san had changed back into her cheerleader outfit, as well as her casual manner of speech.

"Morning, Kaori-chan!" Yuuki-san said.

"Good morning, Yuuki-san, Sensei," I said. "I'm a bit surprised to see you two together."

"Yuuki-san noticed me sitting by myself and offered to join me," Sensei said. "I accepted, of course."

"Yep," Yuuki-san said. "At my old school, my personal policy was to find anyone who was eating lunch by themselves, and ask to sit with them, so of course I'd do that for Sae-chan."

For a moment, I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Yuuki-san for having the confidence to be so outgoing and casual with her peers. At that point, I realized that Yuuki-san had weaknesses of her own- her fear of blood and her struggling to contribute useful ideas to our investigation of the school and the murders.

"That's nice," I said. "Of course, isn't it possible that some people might prefer to sit alone?"

"Yes, which is why Yuuki-san asked," Sensei said. "I could have said no to her if I'd so desired, but having eaten most of my lunches at school alone, I've found that I prefer doing so with a friend."

I nodded. Sensei might have been a loner in the past, but it may not have been entirely by choice, so I was glad that she had people like Yuuki-san and I to talk with.

"I see," I said. "In that case, Sensei, please feel free to ask me to join you if you'd like to eat with someone."

"I'd be very happy to, Miura-san," Sensei said with a smile.

Mitamura-san then arrived and walked over to Sensei, handing her the "Breakneck Canyon" manga.

"I would like to return this, Edogawa-san," Mitamura-san said, "since while the proper procedure may be to bring it to the library, there is no librarian here in this school."

As Sensei accepted the book, laying it in her lap, I had to wonder what the late fees on a book that we'd taken out while we were in school would be, or if there were any.

"Thank you, Mitamura-san," Sensei said. "When I'm done reading it, I'll put it back where I found it."

"Please do," Mitamura-san said. "I would question why the library has books like these- especially manga, rather than proper literature- but I cannot deny Sasaki-senpai's talent... even if she could be using it in better ways. Out of respect for her, I will spare her work from the incinerator's flames."

Hoshino-kun snickered, but didn't say anything. I wonder if he also suspected that Mitamura-san liked seeing gay men having sex more than she'd like to admit.

When the rest of us arrived, Mitamura-san discussed Monokuma's "motive," just as she had when Monokuma had given us weapons after our first night here.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make," Mitamura-san said. "Last night, Monokuma-san intruded in my room and left me a notepad, which he claims contains a classmate's weakness. I trust he did the same with everyone else, did he not?"

Everyone nodded.

"It seems we are all on the same page," Mitamura-san said. "I assume that all- or at least most- of you have watched what is on your notepad by now, but I will ask you not to share that information with others. It is, of course, up to you to do what is right, and be mindful of the safety of your fellow students."

Hoshino-kun let off a chuckle, one with far less derision than the vast majority of what came out of his mouth.

"So you're actually starting to wise up a bit," Hoshino-kun said. "It looks like it finally sunk in that this killing game isn't like playing 'elected official' for your school's student council."

"My work for my school is not a game, either, Hoshino-san," Mitamura-san said, "but I will concede that the stakes here are far greater than anything I have faced before. That is why I cannot afford to fail at my task."

"Got it," Hoshino-kun said. "Anyway, you don't need to tell me not to show anyone else what I know- that's in my best interests, after all."

As always, knowledge was a useful commodity, and each of us had been gifted with a piece of information on one of our classmates, whom we were expected to think of as our opponents in this "game." Sharing what we knew would only benefit the "competition," and make it more likely that someone would plot murder, so it was in our best interests to keep what we knew to ourselves.

"But it's not like all the weaknesses are bad, are they?" Yuuki-san said. "I know Kaori-chan wouldn't kill anyone just to keep the fact that she used to wet the bed when she was little secret, right?"

I sighed, and put my face in the palm of my hand. I was relieved that it wasn't more serious, but I was still embarrassed to have it revealed so easily.

"Why thank you, Yuuki-san..." I said.

Sensei patted my shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"There, there," Sensei said.

"That may be so," Mitamura-san said, "but it is possible that some of the videos contain useful information that could be used to commit murder."

"Ok, ok, Reiko-chan," Yuuki-san said. "I'm sorry, Kaori-chan."

Yuuki-san stood up and did a bow of apology, one that was surprisingly deep and sincere. As embarrassed as I was, I didn't really mind, since if my motive was not only banal, but also public knowledge, few would suspect me of killing to keep it secret.

"I accept your apology, Yuuki-san," I said, "so let's just drop this subject, shall we?"

"So what should we do?" Akasaka-san said. "Should we gather them together in one spot?"

"That may not be prudent, Akasaka-san," Mitamura-san said. "After all, if they are all in one location, that would mean that the person responsible for them has access to all the information. Instead, since it is likely that everyone has watched theirs, I would like everyone to keep theirs to themselves, but keep in mind who has their weakness- it may be important information if something happens."

"Maybe we could destroy them," Fukuda-kun said. "Even though my notepad's screen didn't crack when I dropped it, I bet if you put them in the sauna near the baths, they'd overheat."

"That wouldn't be a good idea, Fukuda-kun," I said. "Monokuma told me that if I tried to break my device, or didn't look at it within 24 hours, he'd give my information to someone else."

"Really?" Iwasawa-san said. "He didn't say anything like that to me."

"Maybe because you didn't ask," I said. "He only said that after I challenged him about what he'd do if I didn't just play along, but knowing him, I guess he means it."

"I see," Mitamura-san said. "Everyone, if what Miura-san said is true, I have a request for you all. Please view your notepads, then forget what you heard."

Everyone nodded, but inwardly, I think most of us knew it was easier said than done. One of us had committed murder without one of Monokuma's extra incentives, so now that he'd introduced a motive, who could we trust? That question- the most important, difficult and pertinent one before us- was also the one that we were least comfortable asking, so no one dared do so for the rest of breakfast.

* * *

As breakfast ended, and I was on my way out of the dining hall, I noticed Iwasawa-san walk up to Mitamura-san, and reach into the front pocket of her overalls. Neither of them noticed me, so I stood outside and listened to their conversation.

"Excuse me, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa-san said, "but my notepad doesn't seem to turn on. Could you please look at it?"

"Certainly, Iwasawa-san," Mitamura-san said. "I will take it to my room and look at it when I have time. I promise you this- I will only confirm that it works, and will not listen to the contents. When I am finished, I will return it to you."

"Thank you, ma'am," Iwasawa-san said, bowing gracefully. Last night's etiquette seminar had paid off, as her form had significantly improved.

After placing Yuuki-san's notepad into the pocket of her skirt, Mitamura-san walked past me, back to her own room, each of us acknowledging the other with a nod. Shortly thereafter, Iwasawa-san also left the dining room, and saw me on her way out.

"Oh, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said.

"Hello, Iwasawa-san," I said. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Mitamura-san."

I quickly bowed in apology, but noticed that Iwasawa-san seemed more confused than angry.

"Oh," Iwasawa-san. "Is something wrong?"

"I have to ask- are you sure you can trust Mitamura-san with your notepad? It might not be a good idea to lend yours to someone else."

"Maybe not. But Miss Mitamura is a trustworthy and respectable young lady, so I'm sure she'll fix it and give it back without looking at it or sharing the information. She's helped me with all my technical problems so far, so I'm sure I can count on her to solve this one."

"I see. Well, that's purely between the two of you, so I'll trust your judgment on this."

"Thank you. If you have any problems, feel free to talk to Miss Mitamura- I'm sure she'll be happy to help you."

I nodded, and said goodbye to Iwasawa-san for now. Whether Iwasawa-san's trust in Mitamura-san was well-placed, cooperation was necessary even in a situation like this, and I was glad that the two of them understood that.

* * *

I met with Sensei in the faculty office, and we bought each other our favorite snacks. Neither of us got the key, which made me wonder what the odds of getting the prize were.

"By the way, Miura-san, I hope you're not angry with Yuuki-san," Sensei said, "or too upset about your secret coming to light."

"Not really, Sensei," I said. "It was a bit embarrassing, but I'm relieved they don't have anything worse on me."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sensei said. "Between us, I _still_ wet the bed occasionally. That might even be the information they have on me."

I was a bit surprised to hear Sensei admit it so easily. I'd once seen a bit of Mitamura-san in her, since the two of them were excellent students who'd been well-respected in their old schools, but the difference between them was that Sensei was more willing to let down her hair- figuratively and literally. By contrast, Mitamura-san didn't think she could afford any levity, much less embarrassing herself to such an extent, which was perhaps why she was always so serious and formal.

"I honestly didn't expect to hear that," I said, "especially since that wasn't on your notepad. It actually said your weakness is forgetting to eat during long writing sessions."

Sensei laughed out loud.

"I appreciate the consideration, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Of course, it isn't much of a problem for me- I haven't had time to write since I woke up in the school. The fact that I'd likely end up rewriting Volume 10 wouldn't help, either."

It was a bit saddening to hear that, and not just because Sensei wouldn't be writing any more books for the foreseeable future. Many of Sensei's fans, myself included, saw that she wasn't cynically cranking out books for money, but genuinely loved to write. It was depressing that she and the other Ultimates couldn't pursue their passions stuck in here... and those who had died would never get the chance again.

"I see," I said. "In any case, I wanted to just let you know that you don't have anything to worry about."

Sensei nodded.

"I'm glad," Sensei said, "but some of us may not be so fortunate. Yuuki-san, for example, has a crippling fear of blood. My notebook suggests causing her to bleed, then going in for the kill once she's paralyzed by the sight of her own blood."

I nodded. If Yuuki-san had screamed after seeing Kurogane-kun's corpse, and passed out after witnessing Sakuragi-kun's execution, then this tidbit of information was most likely true.

"So the notepads are correct," I said. "Mine says Yuuki-san has my weakness, so hers says you have hers, and yours says I have yours, right?"

Sensei nodded.

"You're right about mine," Sensei said, as she started hers up. It showed a depiction of a gray silhouette of someone with an unclear gender grabbing Yuuki-san from behind. Yuuki-san was quaking in fear, whether because of the nosebleed she suffered, or because her attacker was about to slit her throat with a steak knife.

 _Ami Yuuki has a crippling fear of blood- whether her own or anyone else's. Draw first blood, or spill some of your own, and then stick her like a pig!_

 _Now, who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Kaori Miura!_

"Aha," I said. "But now that we know the notepads seem to be right about who has what weakness, what are we going to do about it?"

"For now, nothing," Sensei said. "Like Mitamura-san said, the only real solution is to ensure as few people know about each other's weaknesses are possible. Like with the murder weapons, these notepads will only be useful in tracking down who knows what if a murder occurs- or perhaps I should say _when_."

"I know," I said. "Still, I can't help but hope it never comes to that."

"So do I, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Let's do what we can to find a way out."

We nodded, and got back to work on looking for possible escape routes. It was a slim chance, perhaps enough so that trying to graduate seemed like a better option, but we refused to accept that we'd be stuck here for the rest of our lives, or that only one of us could escape.

* * *

I continued investigating the second floor, and found Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun sitting in a classroom.

"Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculer ta mère..." Inoue-kun said.

"Sorry, what was that?" I said. "Could you please repeat it in a language I understand?"

"I'm pretty sure Inoue can translate it," Tezuka-kun said, "but it's not the sort of thing we'd like to say around a girl."

I sighed, a bit exasperated that Tezuka-kun had come to such a conclusion about me. While I'd only recently come to terms with the fact that my gender preferences were hardly typical, I'd long known that I didn't fully meet traditional ideals of femininity, at least as far as my paternal grandmother was concerned. She'd given me disapproving looks whenever she saw me wearing pants, heard me call her son "Dad" rather than "Father," or noticed that I wasn't interested in getting married (at least not to a man), so she'd probably have a heart attack if she found out that I read a porn magazine. Because of that, the more rebellious part of me became even more curious about what Tezuka-kun and Inoue-kun were up to.

"I'm sure I can handle it," I said. "I might be a girl, but I'm not a _lady_."

Inoue-kun looked at Tezuka-kun, who gave him a silent nod of consent, then turned back to me.

"All right," Inoue-kun said. "I'm teaching Tezuka-kun foreign swear words."

I tried to stifle a giggle, but didn't quite succeed.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea telling her," Inoue-kun said.

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry for laughing," I said. "I'm just a little surprised, that's all, and curious- what brought this on, anyway?"

"Yesterday, Inoue and I had a conversation," Tezuka-kun said. "Thing is, I prefer expressing myself with pictures rather than words. A picture's worth a thousand words, if not more, you know?"

"Yes, I understand the value of good images, for both information and expression," Inoue-kun said. "For example, the pictorial emergency instructions on airplanes can show you how to survive various crises without having to be translated into every language. Tezuka-kun's art also can express many emotions, themes and other ideas, all of which can be interpreted in multiple ways."

"Yeah, see?" Tezuka-kun said triumphantly. "When you write descriptions, you're only telling people about something, rather than showing it to them."

Inoue-kun's expression was that of someone waiting to speak. He was polite enough to listen, but also was subtly reminding Tezuka-kun that he wasn't done making his point just yet.

"However," Inoue-kun said, "words and language can also be quite useful in skilled hands. When describing something, for example, some writers use the tricks of the trade to help put an image in the readers' minds, letting their imagination do the rest."

"I think you both have good points," I said. "For example, Sensei's good at description, but she has an illustrator for her novels, who does the cover and various pictures of scenes in the light novel."

"True," Tezuka-kun said. "Of course, I'm not an illustrator, so there's a shitload of artists who can do that a hell of a lot better with that than I can."

"Again, I'm not denying the power of imagery," Inoue-kun said, "simply trying to help Tezuka-kun gain a greater appreciation for the power of language. To that end, I'm starting with teaching him the fun parts."

Tezuka-kun nodded. While his speech was a bit rough and unsophisticated, at least he was open-minded. While people as different as Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun were didn't always get along, when they did, people like them tended to learn a few things from each other, so I was glad that this seemed to be the case here.

"Got it," Tezuka-kun said. "I'll be sure to show you more about art, although you'll have to ask someone else to draw naked ladies for you."

"Dare I even ask what you two are doing?" Mitamura-san said as she passed by.

"Oh, hey, Mitamura," Tezuka-kun said. "Inoue's teaching me how to cuss in French- he says it's like wiping my ass with silk!"

Mitamura-san let out a long and exasperated sigh.

"I suppose I cannot complain about your taking a break," Mitamura-san said, "but given our situation, I believe it is fair to say that your time could be spent more productively. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do."

Mitamura-san walked off as quickly as she'd come. As soon as she was out of earshot, Tezuka-kun sighed and shook his head, evidently disappointedl

"Damn," Tezuka-kun said. "I really thought she'd blow a blood vessel over hearing that. That would've been as funny as hell."

"I don't blame you," Inoue-kun said with a smile. "In Japan, Mitamura-san is seen as an upstanding and respectable young lady, but in America, she'd come off as a stuck-up prude. Some of my friends from my time in America would relish any opportunity to take people like her down a peg or two."

I nodded. I'd heard that in America, calling people by their first names was the norm, rather than the exception. Maybe Mitamura-san was within her rights to ask Yuuki-san to show her the same respect I did, but if she insisted on being called "Miss Mitamura" in America, people would probably laugh at her.

"You're probably right," I said, "but Mitamura-san is a person who values self-control and discipline. She's not the type to lose her cool, and if she did, she wouldn't easily show it."

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "I do appreciate that she's serious, mature and honest. I feel as though I can count on her not to do anything rash."

"Those are all good things," I said. "That said, it does sound like there's a downside, isn't there?"

Inoue-kun nodded.

"On the other hand, while Mitamura-san does at least seem to be all of those things, she's also the kind who can't accept being anything less than that," Inoue-kun said. "No one is perfect, not even the Ultimates, and I suspect that shouldering the impossible task of perfectly leading the group in a situation like this is taking its toll on Mitamura-san."

I solemnly nodded. Morale was a critical factor in this situation, and Sakuragi-kun had chosen to commit murder simply because he thought it was his only hope to survive, much less escape. If Mitamura-san let herself show she was stressed, it would likely affect all of us, especially Iwasawa-san. Of course, if Mitamura-san bottled it up until she reached her breaking point, the repercussions would be even worse.

"Maybe, but I'm a bit more cynical," Tezuka-kun said. "The more I learn about her, the more it seems like she's one of those goody-two-shoes types who acts the way she does for her own benefit, kind of like what Hoshino said earlier. I'm starting to regret voting for her, and I don't think I'm the only one to feel this way."

Something about what Tezuka-kun said didn't sit well with me. Usually, people like Mitamura-san craved the approval of their parents or other authority figures, but the only authority watching us here was "Headmaster" Monokuma, who'd likely consider Mitamura-san a threat. Was Mitamura-san still struggling for her parents' and teachers, approval, or was she taking this killing game as seriously as she did everything else that mattered in her life?

"You might be right, Tezuka-kun," I said, "but I'm hoping you aren't."

"Yeah, me too," Tezuka-kun said.

"I agree," Inoue-kun said. "Whatever one might say about Mitamura-san's motives or ability to handle the job, she chose to step up and lead us in this unreasonable situation, in which our lives are on the line. We can't afford to lose her."

In order to get our minds off the depressing subject of how the stress might affect our leader, Inoue-kun continued teaching us foreign swear words. Maybe Mitamura-san thought we were wasting our time, but sometimes, it was good to be able to relax, unwind, and think about things besides our current plight.

* * *

In the evening, I found Kagami-kun in the hallway of the second floor, wandering around.

"Oh, hi, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said, apparently surprised to see me.

"Good evening, Kagami-kun, I said. "Is something on your mind?"

Kagami-kun paused. His train of thought hadn't quite been derailed, but it did take a moment to get the engine running again.

"I've just been thinking," Kagami-kun said, "about how all these Ultimates have such ordinary weaknesses."

"I know, I was a bit surprised myself," I said. "But in the last trial, we learned that Sakuragi-kun was so desperate to get back home and do the one thing he was good at that he was willing to commit murder."

"True," Kagami-kun. "Do you ever watch the tabloids and other gossip websites, to get the latest celebrity scandals?"

I shook my head emphatically.

"Not at all," I said, "but I did hear about Prime Minister Ishimaru's downfall, so I think I have some idea what you're getting at."

"I don't know if you still remember," Kagami-kun said, "but Ishimaru was considered such a genius that people felt betrayed when he got roped up in such a scandal. I, however, think of it differently. People were so much in awe of his talent that they didn't notice his flaws until they manifested- or maybe they knew all along and pretended not to notice, simply because they didn't want to accept it."

I remembered the case of a star basketball coach at another high school, who'd lost his job and been arrested after a string of sexual abuse incidents came to light, some of which had happened before his rise to fame. The principal had also been forced to resign after it turned out that he'd known about the coach's transgressions, and presumably kept them under wraps because he didn't want to lose such an asset to his school. Of course, most of us had no stake in it, and simply couldn't accept that a man we admired so much was a reprehensible person at heart.

"In other words, the Ultimates are only human," I said, "and may not even be _good_ people. I've had to learn that lesson since I came here."

"So have I," Kagami-kun said. "It does make me wonder what kind of Ultimate I was- maybe my gift was counterbalanced out by some sort of shortcoming, a bit like some sort of game rule to prevent me from being too powerful. Maybe, for all my talent, I wasn't even a good person- I don't think the mastermind would have brought us together if we wouldn't possibly kill each other."

I sighed and shook my head. I personally believed that the "point" of the killing game was that decent people, and exceptionally talented ones at that, could be provoked to murder, but that was beside the point for now.

"I don't know what to say," I said. "On the one hand, a part of me thinks you shouldn't be in a rush to find whatever it is you forgot, since not all truths are pleasant ones. On the other hand, I can sympathize with your desire to find a part of your identity."

"You might be right," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, I'll only know whether it's a good thing once I find out, won't I?"

I nodded.

"I believe so," I said, "which is why I don't think you should give up on trying to find out. Maybe the person who has your weakness knows your talent."

"If they are, they're not telling me," Kagami-kun said. "Besides, if Monokuma and/or the mastermind went to the trouble of wiping my memory to make me forget my talent, they probably won't just give it to me so easily."

"Ah," I said. "Well, that's a shame."

"Still, it isn't all bad," Kagami-kun said. "As long as I have a goal, I have somewhere I can focus my efforts. I promise I'll remember who I am someday, and when I do, you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you," I said. "Good luck, Kagami-kun."

As I parted ways with Kagami-kun for the night, I wondered if Monokuma and the mastermind had chosen us because it would be more tragic for highly talented students to kill each other. Perhaps the Ultimates had their flaws, but they had achieved great success at a young age, so they had earned their respect. Some of Sakuragi-kun's fans would likely feel let down or betrayed if they found about him killing Kurogane-kun, but many more would be horrified and saddened after hearing of his gruesome death, and the same went for relatively ordinary students like me. For our sake and that of those closest to us, I swore to get as many of us out of here as I could.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _People say inventors are really great, but let's be honest._

 _Sure, the guy who invented the automobile did a lot to make our modern society possible, but who in their right mind would want to drive a car made at the start of the 20th Century?_

 _Don't just take my word for it! Start up your tablets' search engine and research about the time when computers were really huge and way less powerful than what we have nowadays!_

 _Maybe if you improve on an existing invention, someone will improve on your improvement someday, but for now, everyone'll thank you, not the original inventor._

 _So don't create something original! Create a better version of what's already there!_

* * *

 _Day 7_

For breakfast, we had a special guest- Monokuma. The robotic bear popped in, practically out of thin air, as we were discussing what we had learned since the second floor had opened up.

"Rise and shine, ursine!" Monokuma said, as he leaped onto the large table, causing everyone's eyes to turn to him.

"Please state your business, Monokuma-san," Mitamura-san said, "particularly what could be so important that you would interrupt our meeting."

"Don't worry, Mitamura-san, it's nothing too serious," Monokuma said. "I count fourteen of you, so clearly, no one's been killed since last time... even after I went to all the trouble of giving you useful information."

Monokuma looked depressed as he hung his head, an emotion that I didn't think was possible for a sociopathic robot bear like him.

"How disappointing," I said sarcastically.

"Technically, that isn't saying much," Kagami-kun said, "since it's only been a little over 24 hours since the motive was released."

"Good point," Monokuma said. "Even Sakuragi-kun took almost three days to snap. Maybe I'm going about this motive all wrong."

So apparently, the motive hadn't worked as well as Monokuma had anticipated. Ordinarily, this would be good news, but as the one responsible for making the rules, he could also change them, introducing new ones that were more conducive toward inciting us to kill one another.

"I'm going to add a new element to this motive," Monokuma said. "Unless someone commits murder by 7 AM the day after tomorrow, I'm going to tell _everyone-_ both inside this school and outside- about your weaknesses. If you do get away with murder, though, then the person with your weakness will take your secret to their grave."

"And what if someone commits murder, but is caught and convicted?" Mitamura-san said.

"Then it's back to the status quo," Monokuma said. "All of you get to keep your notepads with your classmates' weaknesses, I'll confiscate the perp and vic's notepads, and I'll introduce a new motive in a couple days. This is kind of like the second motive from last time, but I don't like recycling my material too often."

As twisted as Monokuma was to think of this reoccurrence of the killing game the same way one might think of the second season of a TV series, I had some idea of what he meant. While each of Sensei's novels involved at least one murder or other crime, she made sure to use vary the methods used, the killers, the victims, and the other characters. While the culprit of the first volume had been a somewhat sympathetic single mother who'd bludgeoned her victim in the heat of the moment, the second volume's killer was a kidnapper who shot his accomplice dead in a pre-planned betrayal.

"Anyway, we're getting ahead of ourselves," Monokuma said, "since we don't know how many of you will be alive two days from now. So long, bearwell!"

Monokuma then left, leaving us in silence for a moment. Some of us who hadn't finished eating yet resumed, while others just sat there for a few moments.

"So it doesn't matter whether we watched our videos or showed them to anyone else," Mizuhara-kun said, his face completely pale, "since in two days, everyone will find out about each other's weaknesses."

"Fat chance," Hoshino-kun said. "Someone's going to snap and kill somebody, and then one of two things happen- they get executed or the rest of us do. I didn't think you were so damn naive, Mizuhara."

"I don't think Mizuhara-san is wrong to hope that we won't end up murdering each other," Sugiura-san said, "since all our lives will be in danger if we have to go through a class trial."

"Not at all," Hoshino-kun said, "but he's an idiot if he thinks that'll actually happen. Hell, Sakuragi didn't even need that extra push, so maybe our next killer just wants to escape and doesn't care about what's on the notepads."

An awkward silence ensued- evidently no one could think of a good response to Hoshino-kun's claims. I then tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"There's two unanswered questions that are bothering me," I said. "First, how exactly does Monokuma plan on informing the outside world about what's contained in the notepads?"

"Maybe he's going to post them on the web," Yuuki-san said. "We might not have any phone service or internet access, but maybe the mastermind does."

"That's a possibility, Yuuki-san," Katsura-san said, "but he would need a significant amount of savvy to attract much interest in this information, as well as actual evidence, since not all rumors gain enough traction to 'go viral.'"

"A fair point, Katsura-san," Mitamura-san said. "Please continue, Miura-san- what was your other question?"

"More or less what Katsura-san just mentioned," I said. "We might be well-known, but even if we're Ultimates, not all of us are celebrities. Even if we were, Monokuma would need some especially good dirt on us in order to attract much attention."

"Yeah, that's right," Mizuhara-kun said, almost as if he was trying to convince himself. "I'm sure he doesn't have anything on us that's worth killing each other over."

"Nothing is," Sensei said. "Regardless of one's reasons or justifications, murder is a crime, and as Sugiura-san said, in here, it also endangers the lives of all the spotless. We must do what we can to ensure that there will never be another killing."

The others nodded in agreement, but in truth, nobody knew what to do to keep us all safe. As always, the decision of whether to kill was one that each of us made, and it only took one person succumbing to the temptation to endanger everyone else. Monokuma knew we were only as strong as our weakest link, and with the added pressure from the time limit, it wouldn't be long before the chain holding our group together broke.

* * *

After breakfast, I tracked down Yuuki-san, who was on her way back to her room for a shower.

"Hey, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "What can I do for you?"

"Yuuki-san, I have a question if you don't mind," I said. "Would it be possible for me to see your notepad and see what information you have?"

I hoped my request wasn't too unreasonable, since my weakness was already well-known. There was one thing, however, that I was only partly sure of, and needed to confirm.

"Sure," Yuuki-san said. "Let me just pop into my room and grab it, OK?"

Yuuki-san left to retrieve her notepad, then returned and showed it to me. The notepad showed a picture of a bed with a wet stain on the sheets. I wasn't sure if that was my old bed, but it was clear Yuuki-san wasn't lying when she'd told everyone about my weakness.

 _Kaori Miura has a pretty embarrassing secret- she wet the bed when she was little. If she knows you know this, she might just kill you._

 _Now who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Sae Edogawa!_

"That's a relief," I said. "It would have been a lot worse if they found out that I... never mind."

"That what?" Yuuki-san said. "That you like Sae-chan?"

I blushed and shook my head. Perhaps anyone who spent much time around me noticed that I often spent time with Sensei, but I hardly thought that amounted to anything more than just getting along and enjoying our time together. Of course, while I would have said that if I was calm, conversations generally require speaking from the cuff, so I ended up stammering out my reply.

"T-That's not true," I said. "I just... I just really like her... her books, that's all!"

"If you say so," Yuuki-san said. "Are you worried what people will say if they think you like another girl?"

I nodded, not wanting to elaborate.

"Ok," Yuuki-san said. "I don't know why that's a bad thing, but I won't tell anyone."

Yuuki-san offered her pinky, and I took it in mine for a pinky swear.

"Thank you," I said. "Anyway, I was asking you because Sensei showed me your notepad- she has your weakness. Don't worry- you can trust her."

Yuuki-san smiled and nodded. She and Sensei were two very different people, but I could sense a burgeoning friendship between them, so I was glad that we could trust one another.

"I know," Yuuki-san said. "So I've got yours, you've got hers, and she's got mine. We don't know much about which of the others has whose, do we?"

"Not really," I said. "If the worst happens, that might become important information, but Mitamura-san's ban on showing each other our notepads isn't exactly helping us figure out who has whose."

After I spoke, I realized that I'd already broken that rule twice. For the most part, I'd supported Mitamura-san, but now that we were in an increasingly precarious situation, in which there was now a deadline for us to commit murder, I couldn't help but think about Mizuhara-kun's advice. Perhaps Mitamura-san didn't have the answers this time, and it was up to us to find our own.

"Maybe," Yuuki-san said. "Still, I think the three of us are pretty lucky to have our weaknesses with people we trust, aren't we?"

"You could say that," I said. "I'm still not certain who I can trust here, but you seem like a good choice."

"Glad to hear that," Yuuki-san said. "I trust you too."

I smiled and parted ways with Yuuki-san. Misplaced trust could be dangerous, but I couldn't fault someone like her, who made friends easily and wanted to help others, for being willing to take that chance and believe that we could help each other. For what it was worth, maybe I could do the same.

* * *

I found Sensei and Inoue-kun sitting at a table in the library. Both of them were reading books- mainly skimming, judging from their pace- and there was a small stack of books between them.

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Inoue-kun and I are doing a research project together- would you like to help us?"

"Sure," I said. "What's it about?"

"We're looking into the origins of Talent High School," Inoue-kun said, "and hoping to find out if there's anything that would give us a clue about why the school became a prison."

"That might be an idea," I said, "but I think if everyone here got a tour of the school, we heard the basic story. It was established 33 years ago, as a rival institution to Hope's Peak Academy, out of the belief that at the time, Hope's Peak's definition of 'talent' was too narrow, and so sought to study more obscure talents, as well as ones in emerging fields, such as those related to technology."

"That's what I heard, too," Sensei said, "but there may be more to the story. Let's take a look, shall we?"

Inoue-kun, Sensei and I sat down at a table, and got out various books about the school- yearbooks, student directories, and so forth. As three teenagers in matching uniforms who were working together in a library, it almost felt like we were students. I wondered if Inoue-kun and Sensei had ever worked together at their old school, since while Sensei may not have had many friends, she was intelligent and socially adept enough to cooperate with others.

We didn't make all that much progress in our investigation, and what we found often seemed less significant than what we didn't find. While we were able to find all sorts of records about the students, from the first class to Sasaki-senpai and the others who'd graduated in our first year, there was no mention of any of us. Maybe the information wasn't available yet, or maybe something else was at play.

"I feel as though we've learned a great deal about the school," Sensei said, "but nothing about when or how it became locked up like this."

"Me neither," Inoue-kun said. "Still, I have to wonder- why were we invited here? Why do they want us here so badly that they'd give us a prestigious education for free and set up an entire Reserve Course just to fund it?"

"Apparently it's to understand what makes us so talented," I said, "but after 33 years, they don't seem to have much to show for it. Pretty much all the students I know see Talent High School as _the_ school to get into- if you can't get into Hope's Peak, that is- and don't really care about the mission of furthering talent."

"Maybe I'm a bit paranoid," Inoue-kun said. "I've always been told that getting into Talent High School is a big opportunity, but as the old joke goes, I'd rather not join any club that would have me as a member. It does seem a bit suspicious that Talent High School would go out of its way to recruit me when I'm not _that_ good of a student."

"I see where you're coming from regarding Talent High School," I said, "but I don't think being inclusive is necessarily a bad thing. My only qualification for joining the mahjong club was being friends with a new member, but I had a good time there. If the three of us go to the same school, I'd invite you both."

"Thank you," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, I've never heard of any Ivy League school in America going up to high school seniors and _asking them_ to come, so you'll have to forgive me if I think Talent High School's bit too good to be true."

I silently concurred, knowing that with my memory gone, I didn't know much about the school apart from my first impressions of it. On the one hand, it was a prestigious institution with decades of history, but on the other, I had to wonder how well it served as a school, when it was largely intended to study talent. Perhaps we'd have wrestled with this question if we'd gone there as normal students and never had to deal with the killing game, so it was only natural that if we'd forgotten the past, our search for the answer would begin anew.

* * *

The three of us didn't make much more progress for the rest of the afternoon, and eventually came to dinner at 7 PM. As Iwasawa-san served up a chicken dish, we recounted what we'd learned to the group.

"So there is no information on our class?" Mitamura-san said. "This is potentially disturbing, although I cannot fathom why the mastermind or Monokuma-san would hide such information."

"Ever since I started investigating with Edogawa-san and Miura-san, I've been thinking," Inoue-kun said. "Maybe we're not really students at Talent High School?"

"I don't think so," I said. "Each of you got scouted and came to this school for an interview, right?"

"I was," Mitamura-san said. "I even have a copy of the letter inviting me for a interview- I found a mistake on the letter, one that was most likely put there as a test of my skill."

The others nodded.

"I thought so," I said. "If Kurogane-kun were still alive, he'd definitely remember playing a ga- I mean, having a shogi match with me at Talent High School."

Back then, I'd been told that the match was solely to test whether I deserved an invitation to Talent High School, since the administration had already given Kurogane-kun an invitation and an Ultimate title. Because of that, I'd erroneously believed that it didn't matter if he lost, so I played to win... and the rest was history.

"Yeah, something like that happened to me," Fukuda-kun said. "They set up a climbing wall in the gym and had me scale it. The local paper did an article about how I got into Hope's Peak, so I don't know why Monokuma would think we'd forgotten getting in."

"I suspect the mastermind is trying to cover their tracks," Sensei said. "If we all came to this school two years ago, then some event during that time caused the school to change. If the list of students isn't available, then it's possible that the mastermind is someone who isn't supposed to be in our class."

Everyone looked at one another, with suspicion in their eyes, and it wasn't hard to understand why, since there was no shortage of viable candidates for the mastermind here. Sugiura-san's achievements were largely unrecognized, and even though many schools forbade students from having part-time jobs, there were still many other young servers who could claim the title. Kagami-kun "conveniently" couldn't remember his talent, or why he'd been nominated. Hoshino-kun had his findings published before, so his talent was most likely genuine, but he also struck me as the type who probably didn't care about anyone else here. I couldn't blame the others for suspecting me, since my "talent" was quite unusual. Even the less suspicious students could simply be very good at hiding their true nature.

"That may be so," Katsura-san said, "or maybe the mastermind was chosen to come here by virtue of their talents, and for some reason, took the opportunity to start this killing game."

"Yeah, because you get into a school this exclusive just by wanting it badly enough," Hoshino-kun said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"I agree with Hoshino-kun," Sensei said. "My first book was published in middle school, but my being admitted here was by no means guaranteed- especially not with many other young authors like Fukawa-sensei around. That said, I will concede that my suggestion that the mastermind was a student here was only a theory."

"Maybe something happened to them while they were at this school," I said, "and maybe that caused them to do something so terrible. In that case, we'd have to find out who remembers their school life."

"You might be right, Kaori-chan, but I'm really hoping you aren't," Yuuki-san said. "That'd mean that the mastermind spent two years with us, and all that time together meant nothing to them. Even after Monokuma said, I don't want to think that one of us betrayed everyone like that."

I nodded in agreement, and the group soon let the subject drop. I knew that even if Monokuma's claims of there being a mastermind were false, I couldn't fully trust anyone, but also knew that I couldn't think of these people as strangers any longer. Even if I'd forgotten the past, we'd once been schoolmates, and now, we were fellow prisoners inside the killing game. We weren't quite friends, but we were comrades in a sense, bound by a common desire to escape, so I hoped to do so with as many of the others still alive as possible.

* * *

In the evening, I stopped by the teacher's lounge to buy Sensei an after dinner snack, and noticed Mitamura-san pacing around restlessly. She was moving a bit more quickly than her usual pace of walking around the school, and seemed more uneasy.

"Is something wrong, Mitamura-san?" I said.

Mitamura-san stopped short and turned around.

"Oh, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "Forgive me- I did not notice you there."

"That's fine," I said. "I just noticed you seemed troubled by something."

Mitamura-san pointed at the vending machine, at which point I noticed that the key was no longer there. She then directed my attention to the cabinet, which was open and unlocked.

"It would seem that someone has opened the refrigerator," Mitamura-san said, "and that person possesses what is likely to be a deadly weapon."

I opened the refrigerator, and found what looked like a note from Monokuma.

 _To Whom It May Concern-_

 _If you're reading this, you're already too late. Someone opened this fridge up and obtained my Special Monokuma Poison._

 _Better luck next time!_

 _Monokuma_

I gulped. Poison could be an especially deadly weapon that was hard to treat, since no one here knew much about it. Maybe the nurse's office had an antidote, but I doubted Monokuma would leave a counter to that weapon out for anyone to find.

"So, someone opened the refrigerator," I said.

"Exactly," Mitamura-san said, "and there is no evidence that would indicate _who_ did so, perhaps Monokuma-san's way of getting us to doubt each other."

I paused to think a moment. In hindsight, something struck me as odd about the place where it had been stored- why a refrigerator? At that point, an idea hit me.

"You know," I said, "if this poison has to be stored in a cold place like a refrigerator, then there's only one other place to search. Let's check the kitchen."

Mitamura-san nodded, then followed me to the dorms.

* * *

Mitamura-san and I entered the kitchen and searched inside the refrigerator, almost literally turning it inside out. Unfortunately, our search turned up nothing.

"Nothing here," I said as Mitamura-san and I carefully put everything back where we had found it. "Is it possible that Monokuma set this up as an elaborate prank?"

"That is possible," Mitamura-san said, "but given the nature of this 'game,' it is possible that the weapon is very real. As such, for the sake of avoiding a panic, I would ask that you not tell anyone about the fact that someone obtained the poison."

I remained silent for a moment. Maybe my discussion with Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun the previous day had planted a seed of doubt in me, but I was starting to wonder whether this gag order was more for the group's benefit, or that of Mitamura-san's credibility as a leader.

"Can I count on you, Miura-san?" Mitamura-san said.

I nodded reluctantly, knowing that Mitamura-san wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

"Thank you," Mitamura-san said. "There is too much at stake for me to fail here."

"For _you_ to fail?" I said. "Like it or not, we're all in this together, since Monokuma's rules dictate that the spotless all share the same fate. Even if Sakuragi-kun betrayed us in order to survive, I still believe that we need to work together in order to solve whatever happens."

"I do not deny this fact," Mitamura-san said, "but merely assert that the burden falls more squarely on my shoulders than anyone else's. I appreciate your willingness to help, just like how you and Edogawa-san helped solve the first mystery, but leading you well is my responsibility."

Mitamura-san excused herself, leaving me with a great deal to think about. Maybe her unease with Sensei handling the investigation was at least partly out of a desire to solve the case, something she likely wanted to do to atone for failing to prevent the murder. Of course, while she wanted to do everything she could to prevent- or failing that, uncover the truth behind- the murders, so did I, so I set out to share this latest development with my most trustworthy ally.

* * *

At around 9:30 PM, I rang the doorbell to Sensei's room. She quickly came out to greet me, wearing her sweatsuit.

"Oh, good evening, Miura-san," Sensei said.

"Good evening, Sensei," I said. "Did you get your snack for today?"

"To be honest, no," Sensei said. "It slipped my mind, since I was worried about Monokuma's motive."

It wasn't surprising that Sensei felt troubled about what we'd learned that morning- only that someone so outwardly confident would openly admit feeling doubt or fear.

"I was just thinking about getting something for you," I said. "Let's head up to the faculty lounge together."

Sensei accompanied me out of her room and locked the door behind her, not even bothering to get dressed when she'd be going to bed in half an hour. We walked out of the dorms, through the school to the faculty lounge. Once there, we swiped our handbooks on the vending machine, buying each other snacks. After obtaining my snack, Sensei looked at where the key had been stored, and noticed the empty space.

"It seems someone else already obtained the key," Sensei said, "as well as whatever was in the locked cabinet."

"Wow, you're observant, Sensei," I said. "You figured it out without anyone telling you."

Sensei giggled and grinned wryly. Most people, such as Hoshino-kun, would dismiss this as an overly obvious observation, but Sensei recognized my intentions.

"I suppose that's why you brought me here, isn't it? So that you could show me that without telling me, no?"

"I can't say. Mitamura-san would probably get mad at me if I answered that question, at least if I did so honestly."

"I'll take that as a yes. That said, there won't be any problem discussing when you think the person opened the cabinet, is there?"

I shook my head.

"Some time earlier today," I said, "which means that it couldn't have been either of us, and probably wasn't Mitamura-san, either, if she discovered it. I have no idea who did it, though..."

Sensei went quiet for a moment.

"Is something wrong, Sensei?" I said.

"I've been thinking," Sensei said. "It's just a theory, but what if...?"

"What if?" I said.

Sensei shook her head.

"Don't mind me," Sensei said. "It's just a theory, and I'm probably overthinking things. Still, we should be careful."

We walked back to our rooms together, still on guard, making it back to our rooms just before the night time announcement. Some would think of it as a way of keeping each other under watch, but I thought of it as protecting Sensei. Even though my trust in Mitamura-san had deteriorated recently, I still thought of Sensei as a dependable ally. Perhaps it was a bit too soon to think of her as anything more than that, but just as she'd placed her trust in me, I did the same in her, and believed it was the right decision.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Whether something's good or bad is really a matter of expectations._

 _If you're expected to be perfect, then you're pretty much doomed to disappoint people._

 _On the other hand, if people don't expect anything from you, you'll probably be able to impress them if you half-ass it._

 _So take a hint from me? Don't expect anything from others, and don't let people expect anything from you._

* * *

 _Day 8_

At breakfast, all the remaining survivors showed up. For the moment at least, the worst had not yet happened, but the atmosphere was uneasy.

"So at this time tomorrow, everyone's information gets out," Fukuda-kun said.

"Assuming that a murder doesn't happen," Katsura-san said. "We know what to do in that case- find the culprit- so we should see what we can do to see that it doesn't come to that."

"Why don't we share the information that we've found?" Kagami-kun said. "That'll put everyone on a level playing field."

"I am sorry, but no," Mitamura-san said. "I suspect that some people's weaknesses are more severe than others, and other people's are already common knowledge. Still other information could perhaps incite people to murder, whether by revealing someone as an especially vulnerable target, or revealing something that someone else would rather keep secret."

"But how would anyone know their own weaknesses?" Sensei said. "Perhaps they could guess, but most people are not entirely objective when it comes to their shortcomings."

It was a bit odd for Sensei to say that, since she was more objective with her own shortcomings than I was with hers.

"It's possible that some people have their own weaknesses," Inoue-kun said, "and I'll use a hypothetical example with six people. If A and B have each other's weaknesses, as do C and D, you'd expect E and F to follow the same pattern, right?"

"I think so," I said. "After all, the point is to make us afraid about

"True," Inoue-kun said. "But what if, instead, E and F had _their own_ weaknesses, rather than each other's?"

"That would make sense," Sensei said. "If the mastermind is among us, they would likely have their own weakness be concealed, or give out fairly useless information to minimize the risk."

"Or they gave out actually useful information," Tezuka-kun said, "just so we wouldn't suspect them."

"That's also a possibility," Sensei said. "The unfortunate truth is that we have very little in the way of useful evidence when it comes to escaping or finding the mastermind's identity. Presumably, this person can do what the rest of us cannot and knows things that we do not, but who could it be?"

Everyone started looking around, and it was clear that they all had an interest in finding the mastermind. The more selfless members of our group could end the killing game by eliminating the one responsible, while the more selfish ones would be motivated by a desire to end the threat to their own lives.

Of course, the fact that we didn't have any clues as to who was the mastermind gave us pause. If one person killed someone we suspected was the mastermind and turned out to be wrong, then that person would have innocent blood on their hands, and a class trial would follow, in which the best outcome would involve their death for the others' survival. Only Monokuma and the mastermind, the only ones having fun in this so-called killing game, would benefit from such a turn of events.

The meeting ended without any solutions being found regarding the motive or the mastermind's identity. Two heads were better than one, but the fourteen of us were all lost, confused and out of our element here, so as depressing it was to admit, we couldn't find a solution as we were. Despite that, working together was the only way we'd get anywhere when it came to solving the murders or finding a way out, not to mention our only hope for survival.

* * *

After breakfast, I found Mizuhara-kun in the faculty lounge, worriedly glancing at the vending machine. While Mitamura-san had asked me not to tell anyone, the key's absence was quite noticeable, so it would only be a matter of time before everyone found out.

As Mizuhara-kun noticed me approach, he quickly stuffed his notepad into his backpack, almost fast enough that I didn't see him do it.

"Ah, hello, Mizuhara-kun," I said.

"Hi, Miura-san," Mizuhara-kun said. "Just wondering, but has Sugiura-san been avoiding you?"

I shrugged. Considering that I barely ever saw her unless the entire group was gathered, I didn't even know what counted as deliberately "avoiding" me.

"Well, I've only spoken with her twice," I said "One time was while we were doing the dishes together, and the other time was, well, about the fact that we haven't really talked. Don't take it too personally- we're all on edge in here, especially at a time like this."

"I won't," Mizuhara-kun said. "I'm glad that you're willing to talk- do you have a minute?"

"I do," I said, and I sat down in one of the chairs at a small table, while he sat down across from me.

"Anyway, I've been wondering about something," Mizuhara-kun said. "Do you think Monokuma's dirt on us is real?"

I sighed, and nodded.

"I'd like to say no," I said, "but sadly, his information was accurate. Yuuki-san's weakness is her fear of blood, and you saw how she reacted to Kurogane-kun and Sakuragi-kun's deaths."

"Gotcha," Mizuhara-kun said. "Still, don't you think that telling me this might be a breach of her trust in you?"

"It could be thought of that way," I said, "but at this point, we all know, so there isn't as much potential for someone using the information to do harm. In any case, this indicates that Monokuma has a good understanding of her weakness... just like how he somehow knew I used to wet the bed."

As I blushed softly, Mizuhara-kun nodded, evidently convinced of my point.

"I see," Mizuhara-kun said. "I'm asking because I'm sitting on a fairly important piece of information about one of us. It's seemingly farfetched, but could have dangerous consequences if people learned about it... assuming it's true, of course."

"So you're trying to decide whether to tell anyone about it?"

"That's right. On the one hand, I feel like if I keep it secret, I'll be responsible for anything bad that happens. On the other hand, if I tell someone, I could end up causing a panic over something that might not even be true."

"And, of course, Monokuma's going to release the information anyway in less than 24 hours," I said.

"Exactly," Mizuhara-kun said. "It's an ethical dilemma with no easy answers, one in which doing nothing is a choice in and of itself. I still believe in what I said about thinking for yourself, and am trying to decide what to do, but I don't even know if there is a right choice in this situation."

"I wish I could help you a little more," I said, "but unless I know what sort of information we're dealing with, I can't say whether you should keep it a secret."

Mizuhara-kun sighed and shook his head.

"It's not as though I don't trust you," Mizuhara-kun said. "You seem like you'd keep my secret, but by sharing it with you, all I'd accomplish is forcing you to share the burden of my dilemma."

"Isn't that what friends do?" I said. "Whenever your friends have problems, you help them with theirs, knowing that they'd do the same for you?"

Mizuhara-kun sadly shook his head, knowing that my words rung a bit hollow.

"I know," Mizuhara-kun said. "You seem like a nice girl, Miura-san, so I hope you can forgive me for saying that I'm not sure we're friends yet."

"I can. I honestly feel the same way about most people here."

I meant what I said, but at the same time, it hurt a bit for Mizuhara-kun to tell me what I'd said to Sensei a few days ago. I must have seemed quite depressed, because Mizuhara-kun looked a little guilty.

"Of course, that doesn't mean I don't _want_ to be friends," Mizuhara-kun said. "Let's get out of here together and become friends for real, all right?"

Mizuhara-kun held out his right hand, and I took and shook it.

"Deal," I said. "I'm leaving for now, but I'm always available if you want to talk with me"

I left Mizuhara-kun to his thoughts for now, choosing to let him decide when he was ready to speak with me. This was an especially tense moment in the already dangerous killing game, but I hoped he'd open up to me enough to share his problems with me. If nothing else, thinking of our fellow classmates as possible friends rather than potential threats would make it easier to work together, perhaps making even the seemingly hopeless fantasy of escape a reality.

* * *

Just after noon, I saw Katsura-san and Akasaka-san playing checkers in the rec room once again.

"Hello, Miura-san," Katsura-san said.

"Good afternoon," I said. "I see you're playing another game."

The two of them nodded. Looking at the board, I saw that Katsura-san was doing more poorly than usual, clearly affected by the stress.

"Just wondering, Miura-san, but how are you holding up?" Akasaka-san said.

I nodded with a faint smile. Perhaps Akasaka-san might be worried that I'd kill someone, but knowing her, it seemed more likely that she was simply motivated by friendly concern.

"Relatively well," I said. "Everyone here knows my secret now, so I'm not worried about that. I am, however, worried about what the others might do."

"That's understandable," Katsura-san said, "since some of us have dangerous secrets. As such, Akasaka-san and I have chosen not to share each other's information unless something happens."

I nodded.

"I'm a bit surprised that you're this troubled, Katsura-san," I said. "You always struck me as calm and rational."

"I have to be," Katsura-san said. "It's _because_ I'm emotionally vulnerable that I try so hard to stay dispassionate, since I know that letting my emotions get the best of me can cause me to do something I'll always regret. Perhaps the only way to avoid having your weakness exploited is to be mindful of what it is."

I nodded, realizing that Katsura-san had made an excellent point. Even though the contents of my weakness video were almost laughable, I knew it wasn't my only shortcoming- my implicit trust in Sensei, my concern over how others saw me, and my inability to make difficult decisions without a time limit could all be used against me. I couldn't change who I was, but I could try to make sure that my weaknesses didn't hold me back.

* * *

In the late afternoon, I found Hoshino-kun sitting in the library, looking through a book on astronomy. I wasn't sure whether he wanted to keep from forgetting what he knew, or if he simply considered it fun.

"So, about fifteen hours from now, all our secrets get out," Hoshino-kun said without preamble.

"It seems so," I said, checking my watch. "It's around 4:30, so that would be fourteen and a half hours until tomorrow at breakfast. I'm hoping nothing happens until then."

"Hope all you like," Hoshino-kun said. "If I had money to bet, I'd wager everything I had on a murder happening before the nighttime announcement. I don't know enough to know who the victim will be, but if I had to guess, it'd be someone who has an especially juicy bit of info."

It was depressing, but I couldn't really argue with his prediction, except to ask how one would know what sort of information anyone else had.

"In case you're wondering, my weakness is a broken right leg that never fully healed," Hoshino-kun said. "I'd just like to get that out there before anyone thinks I'd commit murder to keep that under wraps. Here's my notepad if you're wondering."

Hoshino-kun got out his notepad and showed it to me.

 _Hoshino-kun broke his right leg on a hike when he was young. He had a cast for several weeks, and still occasionally feels pain in his leg. If you're trying to off him, aim your first strike at his right leg._

 _Now who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Sora Hoshino!_

Hoshino-kun's notepad had an interesting bit of data, but it wasn't the information itself. He'd somehow obtained his own information, thus confirming Inoue-kun's theory.

"But why tell me?" I said. "You wouldn't give that information to just anyone, would you?"

"No," Hoshino-kun said, "but I think you're a safe bet for a few reasons. You're less likely to kill people, you're unlikely to use my weakness to your advantage. If something happens, you can say that I told you, and they'd probably believe you if you said I had my own data."

"So you're preemptively using me as your insurance policy," I said. "That's a shrewd move."

"I wasn't looking for your approval," Hoshino-kun said, "only your cooperation. For the record, while I don't completely trust anyone, I think you're a safer bet than most people."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said, "or at least the closest I'll get to hearing one from you."

"That's right," Hoshino-kun said. "Just remember- if anyone asks, I trusted you enough to tell you."

I nodded. Perhaps Hoshino-kun knew I wouldn't necessarily fulfill my promise, but if he considered me "a safer bet than most," then I decided to prove him right.

"By the way, Hoshino-kun," I said. "I notice that you aren't as hard on Mitamura-san as you usually are these days."

Hoshino-kun chuckled.

"Don't get me wrong," Hoshino-kun said. "She's _still_ a prissy goody-two-shoes who's out of touch with the real world, much less the killing game. That said, she isn't _as much_ of one as she was a week ago. If she makes it through this, she might just pull her head out of her ass. In situations like this, you either adapt or you die."

Hoshino-kun then parted ways with me, leaving me with much to think about. People could change drastically, sometimes in a very short amount of time, under the right circumstances and with the right impetus. Perhaps if we made it out of here, those left alive would be very different people than they were when we came in, and I hoped it would be for the better.

* * *

At around 7 PM, I stopped by the kitchen, and saw Sugiura-san in there, wearing an apron over her waitress uniform. She was in the process of retrieving some ingredients from the refrigerator and laying them on a cutting board.

"Good evening, Miura-san," Sugiura-san said. "You're just in time to get a sneak preview of dinner- my family's miso stew recipe."

"Did something happen?" I said. "Usually Iwasawa-san handles dinner."

"I had a conversation with Mitamura-san this afternoon," Sugiura-san said. "We were discussing cooking, and my family's restaurant came up. She asked if we had any recipes, and when I mentioned the miso stew, she suggested that I serve it for dinner tonight."

"That sounds pretty good," I said. "My own family has that for dinner sometimes, so I'd be interested in tasting your recipe."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sugiura-san said. "Dinner should be ready by 7:30, so please wait in the dining room."

I nodded, then excused myself.

* * *

With about half an hour left until dinner, I returned to the dining room, where a few people were waiting, having arrived while I was in the kitchen. I sat down across from Sensei at one of the smaller tables.

"Good evening, Miura-san," Sensei said.

"Good evening, Sensei," I said. "You're here early."

"I didn't have anything better to do until dinner," Sensei said, "and once I'm done eating, I'm planning on retiring to my room for the night. I'd rather not be out alone at a time like this."

"Neither do I," I said. "At least during dinner, everyone will be watching if someone tries something."

Our conversation went to a halt on a somewhat uneasy note. It was clear that anyone willing to kill to protect their secrets didn't have long left to act- less than twelve hours, or less than three if one assumed that everyone spent all of night time in their rooms. Even in the best case scenario, everyone's weaknesses would become public knowledge, thus making the people with vulnerabilities that could be exploited during a murder attempt easy targets. No matter how I looked at it, the situation would only get worse in the near future, and everyone knew that.

A few minutes later, Iwasawa-san walked into the dining room, and noticed that there were people waiting for dinner. Believing that she'd kept her hungry classmates waiting, Iwasawa-san looked crestfallen, then bowed in apology

"I'm sorry I'm late, everyone," Iwasawa-san said. "I'll get started on dinner."

"Thank you, Iwasawa-san, but that won't be necessary," I said. "Sugiura-san's cooking dinner tonight."

"Oh, really?" Iwasawa-san said. "That's a bit of a surprise. Miss Mitamura usually leaves the job to me, and she trusts me enough that she doesn't need to supervise me. Still, I'm interested in seeing what Miss Sugiura will make."

Iwasawa-san then entered the kitchen. I couldn't clearly hear the conversation, but I faintly heard her and Sugiura-san's voices. About a minute or so later, Iwasawa-san sat down at my table.

"I just spoke with Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa-san said. "She apologized for the mix-up, but said she hoped she could give me a break from cooking every so often. I gratefully accepted... in exchange for offering to help her wash the dishes from time to time."

"Sounds good," I said.

About ten minutes before dinner, Yuuki-san headed into the kitchen, then sat down at my table.

"Hey there, girls," Yuuki-san said. "Are you three looking forward to dinner, too?"

"I am," I said. "What about you?"

"Definitely," Yuuki-san said. "I asked really nicely, and Anzu-chan gave me a taste. I think we should have her and Momo-chan take turns from now on."

As Iwasawa-san nodded approvingly, it took me a moment to remember that Sugiura-san's first name was Anzu, just like Iwasawa-san's was Momo. Still, I was grateful for Yuuki-san, since she was more or less a walking reminder of my classmates' first names.

Over the next few minutes, the remaining students filed into the dining room. A few minutes before dinner, I saw Mitamura-san briefly stop in the kitchen. Once again, I couldn't clearly hear what she and Sugiura-san said to each other, but their conversation was brief. Mizuhara-kun was the last to arrive, dispelling our worries that he'd be a no-show, and sat down next to me, just before dinner was served.

When dinner time came, Sugiura-san served us one by one, saving her own dinner until everyone had theirs. Mizuhara-kun was the first to be served, and the first to eat. Given how quickly he ate, he seemed to be very fond of it- or at least very hungry, so once Sugiura-san brought me my stew, I tried it. It didn't taste quite like how I expected, but it was well-made and delicious, so it was clear why Mizuhara-kun liked it so much. Sensei and Yuuki-san were the next to be served, and they enjoyed it.

A few minutes later, Mizuhara-kun finished. While he'd liked his dinner, he also didn't seem to be feeling well, or at least seemed that way from as far away as I waws. Not being a doctor, I wondered if he'd eaten too much or too quickly. Around that point, Sugiura-san emerged from the kitchen with her own bowl of stew, and sat down next to Mizuhara-kun at the other small table.

"This stew really hit the spot," Mizuhara-kun said, looking in Iwasawa-san's direction. "Compliments to the chef."

"Why, thank you, Mizuhara-san," Sugiura-san said. "There isn't enough for seconds, but I can make it again if you'd like."

Mizuhara-kun quickly turned back to Sugiura-san, and for a moment, I thought he was embarrassed over praising the wrong person.

"Wait, _you_ were the one who made dinner?" Mizuhara-kun said, with a note of surprise, or even alarm, in his voice.

"I did," Sugiura-san said. "Is something wrong?"

"It-it's strange," Mizuhara-kun said, his voice oddly strained. "I... I was t-talking with... earlier a-and..."

Mizuhara-kun then coughed violently, then gagged. For a few seconds, we watched, to make sure it wasn't just an ordinary cough, then Sugiura-san went almost as pale as Mizuhara-kun was.

"Mizuhara-san?" Sugiura-san said. "Are you all right?"

"Is he choking?" I said. "But he's already done eating."

"Someone must have poisoned his food!" Mitamura-san said as she rushed over from her seat at the large table. "I will take him to the nurse's office to try to save him- Miura-san, please see if you can find out what poisoned him, and come over by yourself once you have some idea!"

"Understood!" I said.

"The rest of you, stay put!" Mitamura-san said. "As of right now, the dining hall, as well as the kitchen, are both a crime scene!"

Mitamura-san gave Mizuhara-kun her shoulder, and began walking to the nurse's office as quickly as she could.

"Sensei, I'll need your help," I said. "Let's search together."

"I'll do what I can, Miura-san," Sensei said.

We looked all over the kitchen for a few minutes. First, we scanned the kitchen, to see if there was anything in plain sight, but this search turned up nothing. We then opened up the drawers and cabinets, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary there. We opened up the trash, but couldn't find all that much in there, since Mitamura-san had taken the trash to the incinerator the previous night. We then opened the refrigerator, and Sensei found a small brown bottle in the back, hidden behind some soy sauce.

"Here," Sensei said, then handed it to me. "This might be what we're looking for."

Upon taking a look, I immediately recognized the label- "Monokuma's Special Poison." I wondered why it had turned up now when it didn't show up earlier, but put that thought out of my head.

"It's the poison that someone won from the vending machine!" I said. "It must have been used on Mizuhara-kun."

"That's possible," Sensei said, "but let's quickly search to see if there's another possible poison. This bottle's empty, so it could be a red herring."

"Maybe," I said, "unless the would-be killer emptied it into the stew. It must have been fairly well-hidden, considering that Mitamura-san and I didn't find it two nights ago. The culprit probably would have made it more obvious if they wanted us to find it."

I quickly skimmed the label, and after seeing that death was guaranteed in minutes, I desperately hoped that this poison wasn't what was coursing through Mizuhara-kun's body. If that was the case, then he was beyond saving at this moment, so I hoped that there was some other explanation for what was happening to him, and some way to save him.

We quickly looked around the refrigerator, as well as the freezer, to see if there were any other sources of poison, but to no avail.

"Looks like there's nothing else," I said. "I'm guessing that this is it."

"Miura-san, please inform Mitamura-san that the Monokuma Special Poison was used and see if she can do anything for Mizuhara-kun," Sensei said. "Finding out who did this to him is important, but saving his life is even more so!"

"Understood!" I said, and quickly exited the kitchen and dining hall, desperate to save Mizuhara-kun's life.

* * *

Once out in the main room of the dorms, I then ran all the way to the nurse's office, hoping that Mitamura-san would be able to save Mizuhara-kun. Not only was I not as agile as Sakuragi-kun, but I also wore a skirt and shoes that weren't meant for running, so it took a good deal longer for me to cover the distance and reach the nurse's office.

By the time I reached the nurse's office, I was almost out of breath from running at top speed the whole way, and slowly opened the door, hoping I wasn't too late. Even expecting the worst, though, wasn't enough to prepare me for what I saw inside.

Mitamura-san was bent over the bed, weeping inconsolably over Mizuhara-kun's dead body.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

As you can see, we're up to the second murder, which not only proves that the killings won't be a one-time occurrence, but also gives some indication of how far Monokuma is willing to go to provoke murders among the students.

I put up a poll asking who you think the culprit this time is.

Next up is the investigation, although I'll probably post another Free Time event first. So far, we have Shiro Kurogane, Reiko Mitamura and Sora Hoshino's events.

Here's another omake from the characters' time at Talent High School.

* * *

 _Omake_

 _Miura's POV_

I walked up to the front desk of the library, carrying a few Agatha Christie novels I'd just finished. Having gotten interested in mysteries after reading Sae's books, I'd eventually moved on to "the greats" of the genre. I hoped that someday, Sensei would be remembered as a similarly skilled and influential writer.

I saw the librarian, Yuuko Chibiki, behind the counter. She was a young women in business casual who wore her long brown hair in a ponytail, and looked young enough to be my older sister. We weren't friends, per se, but we did see each other often enough that we recognized each other and knew each other's names

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Chibiki-san said. "Are you here to return some books?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said, and I handed Chibiki-san the books.

Chibiki-san scanned the books I'd given her and sighed.

"I'm sorry, but these are overdue," Chibiki-san said. "I'm going to have to fine you."

"It's fine, Chibiki-san," I said. "Here's the money I owe you."

I reached into my pockets and got out the change- I made a habit of carrying coins in my pockets in case I made a mistake like this.

"Thank you," Chibiki-san said. "I don't enjoy charging fees for a few reasons. One is that the people who get charged actually return the books, which is more than I can say for some people. A book got checked out before I got hired, and still hasn't been returned. My predecessor was fairly strict about late fees, but if someone were to leave that book in the library, I'd take it, no questions asked."

I then checked out "And Then There Was None," promising I wouldn't be late this time.

* * *

Some time after we were granted access to the second floor, I returned to the library, and found a copy of "And Then There Were None" on the front desk. Having long wanted to read it, and having forgotten that it wouldn't be for the first time, I picked it up.

"It looks like someone checked out this novel," I said. "Considering what the fines are, I'd hate to be them when it's time to return..."

As I opened up the book, I saw a sight that should have been familiar... my library card.

"MY BOOK!?" I said, before realizing that I'd failed to uphold the library's rule for quiet, not just the rule for returning books on time.


	9. Chapter II, Part 4

_Deadly Life_

I stood in the doorway, speechless. Despite already having seen two other people I'd known die, I was still hopeful- or maybe desperate- that Mizuhara-kun was still holding on to life, if only barely. I didn't want us to have to go through another trial, to have our conversation in the classroom be the last time we'd ever talk, or lose another one of us.

"Is he..." I said.

"Dead?" Mitamura-san said, tears streaming down her face. "Yes. Yes he is."

Mitamura-san's reply stripped away all my doubts, hopes and illusions. The tragedy that Sensei and I had been trying to prevent had happened for the second time, and our only way to survive would be to find whoever killed Mizuhara-kun and sacrifice them.

"Please bring the rest of the students here," Mitamura-san said, "except for Edogawa-san, who should remain watching the kitchen."

"Is that really necessary?" I said. "We already looked it over while looking for the poison."

"It would be best," Mitamura-san said. "I would rather not have anyone touch the evidence in the kitchen, save for the two who have already done so."

I nodded, realizing that while I'd made my point, Mitamura-san wasn't changing her mind.

"All right," I said. "I'll go get everyone besides Sensei."

I then walked out of the nurse's office, bracing myself for breaking the news to the remaining students. None of us had been very close with Mizuhara-kun, but all of us knew what another murder taking place meant- that we would once again have to face the ordeal of a class trial, in which all our lives would be on the line.

* * *

I then returned to the dining room, where the other students were sitting quietly, around half-finished bowls of stew, not willing to speak or eat. Considering that something in Mizuhara-kun's bowl had killed him, the others held off on eating out of fear that they might share the same fate. Of course, some of us suspected that if their bowls had been poisoned, it would already be too late for them.

Noticing the others turn toward me, Sensei stood at the entrance to the kitchen, anxiously awaiting news.

"Mizuhara-kun is dead," I said. "Mitamura-san wants all of us to meet at the nurse's office- except for Sensei, who Mitamura-san wants to keep guarding the crime scene."

The others nodded, understanding everything- what the death of one of our number meant, what we'd have to do next and even who I meant when I said "Sensei." Sensei, however, looked disappointed, a bit like a little girl being told to go to her room while the adults made "grown-up" talk.

"I'm not in any position to refuse, am I?" Sensei said.

I shook my head. Mitamura-san's only authority came from having people listen to her, but disobeying her during a murder investigation would only end up attracting suspicion.

"Not exactly," I said. "I tried to convince her, but she won't change her mind.

Sensei sighed, then nodded.

"Very well. I'll continue investigating, and will let you know what I've uncovered when you return."

"Thank you, Sensei," I said. "I'll come back to speak with you soon."

With that promise, I then turned to the others, and led them out of the dining hall.

* * *

I brought the other ten students to the nurse's office, and saw that Mitamura-san had calmed down a little. Within seconds of the first people stepping in, the monitor in the nurse's office came to life.

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma said. "After a short period of investigation, we will have a class trial."

We stood there a moment, in silence. I was fortunate enough that everyone trusted me enough to know I wouldn't lie about something like this, but the others still found it hard to accept that someone had been killed once again. A few seconds later, Monokuma then appeared.

"Looks like we've got another murder," Monokuma said, "but none of you seem at all surprised."

"Kaori-chan already told us," Yuuki-san said. "Anyway, if we knew already, why'd you play the announcement?"

"Oh, it's just a formality," Monokuma said, "one I'm supposed to do when three or more people besides the culprit find the body. It doesn't just tell the rest of you that someone turned up dead- it officially marks the start of the investigation period."

"Why three of us?" Fukuda-kun said. "And why's the culprit excluded?"

"I'm just making things fair for the culprit," Monokuma said. "If they do a good job of covering up their crime, they might be able to hide evidence before three people discover the body. If one other person walks in, the culprit might be able to kill them, too, and avoid getting caught."

"I guess that makes sense," Fukuda-kun said. "If the culprit counted, everyone would be notified as soon as the killing happened. And if it was the first person besides the culprit, then if Mitamura did it, she would've been exposed the moment Miura walked in."

"Fukuda-san, this is no time for jokes or unfounded accusations," Mitamura-san said. "There is not much evidence, so we will need to use every bit at our disposal to find the culprit."

"You've got that right!" Monokuma said. "It's dangerous to go alone, so take this! See you at the class trial!"

Monokuma handed me the Monokuma file, then vanished. Once he was gone, I began to read it.

 _Monokuma File 2_

 _The victim was Minato Mizuhara, the Ultimate Fisherman._

 _The body was found in the nurse's office._

 _The time of death was approximately 7:40 PM._

 _No external wounds were found on the victim's body._

I checked my watch, and confirmed that Mizuhara-kun had died just before I'd reached the nurse's office. I then let out a long sigh, knowing that the Monokuma File's information was entirely unnecessary.

"Well, this is completely useless," I said. "We already know who died, where and when, so what good does this do?"

"Well, it does prove that he probably ingested the poison," Kagami-kun said, "as opposed to say, being injected with a syringe or stabbed with a poisoned weapon. It looks like whatever was in the soup killed him, after all."

"I'm not so sure," Katsura-san said. "It's possible that the culprit wants to hide the true cause of death. Maybe Monokuma left out the cause of death because if we understood how the culprit killed Mizuhara-kun, we could easily solve the case. For example, if it said that he'd been smothered with a pillow while in the nurse's office, Mitamura-san would be the obvious suspect."

Mitamura-san glared at Katsura-san. While she was a suspect, as someone who'd been alone with Mizuhara-kun at the time of his death, I doubted that she'd be stupid enough to kill him during such a time. It was obvious that even if he'd died under her care, the cause of death had happened beforehand, so we had to find out what had killed him before we could move on to _who_.

"That's certainly possible, Katsura-san," I said. "Of course, the existence of the Monokuma File ruined Sakuragi-kun's plan by allowing us to realize that Kurogane-kun had died instantly. As for this culprit... we'll only know what the cause is and why it's significant once we investigate."

The others silently concurred. At this point, we were only working off of blind speculation, and we'd be lucky if any of us identified the culprit, much less made a convincing case for their guilt. Mitamura-san, however, realizing that we were all in danger during the class trial, then spoke.

"Once again, I will make the same request to the culprit that I did last time," Mitamura-san said. "Please confess and accept your punishment so that the rest of us can continue to live."

"Like Sakuragi did?" Hoshino-kun said. "He was scared shitless from when Miura pointed the finger at him to when he got squashed flat, and for good reason. Do you think we forgot what happened to him?"

"No," Mitamura-san said, "but in the end, Sakuragi-san accepted that this was for the best. There is nothing happy about one of us, even a murderer, being executed, but it is preferable to all of the spotless dying."

Mitamura-san had spoken to what all of us were thinking. Some of us still felt guilty over sentencing Sakuragi-kun to death, but all of us had voted for him, and all of us would likely vote for the next blackened.

Silence reigned for a moment. While, hypothetically, Sensei could have been the culprit, the more likely scenario was that the actual culprit was one of the twelve living people in this room, and they were unwilling to admit it.

"So no one will come forward?" Mitamura-san said. "It is a shame, although I am not surprised or disappointed."

"Yeah," Hoshino-kun said. "I, for one, would rather have an easy trial, but I guess the killer doesn't want to die, either."

Hoshino-kun wasn't exactly a person with a strong sense of empathy, but it was easy enough for him to understand someone else who felt the same way he did.

"Don't feel too bad, Reiko-chan, it was worth a shot," Yuuki-san said. "I'm sure Kaori-chan and Sae-chan will find the killer this time, too. Let's just investigate the crime, shall we?"

Mitamura-san nodded, having composed herself a little by now. Even if she knew Yuuki-san couldn't contribute much to the investigation besides cheering us on, she understood the significance of that contribution- after all, cheering for others was what Yuuki-san did best.

"I will remain to watch over Mizuhara-san's body," Mitamura-san said. "This may not be the crime scene, but I would rather not see anything happen to him that would cause us to be confused as to his cause of death."

"Me neither," Hoshino-kun said.

I was a bit surprised to see Hoshino-kun offer to cooperate without complaining or criticizing Mitamura-san. Maybe he trusted her, or maybe he simply recognized the gravity of the situation.

The rest of the group quickly split up and fanned out around the school. While the crime was most likely performed in the kitchen, any location in the areas we could access could potentially be relevant.

"I have a request, Mitamura-san," I said. "May I investigate the nurse's office?"

Mitamura-san shook her head.

"Unless you can explain what you're looking for, and also prove that it's somehow relevant to the case, my answer is no," Mitamura-san said. "While we know that soup was made in the kitchen, we still do not know how he obtained the poison. As such, in order to preserve possible places related to the crime, I would prefer that you not search here unless you can prove it will yield evidence."

"Yeah, I checked a while back and there isn't any poison here," Hoshino-kun said. "You'd just be wasting your time, Miura."

I started to say something, but stopped short and excused myself. I had to admit that I didn't know what I was looking for, and mere speculation wouldn't cut it at this point. Mitamura-san didn't require search warrants for our investigations, but she knew our time was valuable, and had no desire for me to waste it on something that might not pan out. As such, I set out elsewhere, knowing that there were more useful clues out there.

* * *

I returned to the dining room, where I saw Tezuka-kun, Kagami-kun, Inoue-kun and Yuuki-san looking around the kitchen.

"How's the investigation going?" I said. "Have any of you found anything?"

The others shook their heads.

"Not really," Kagami-kun said. "I was going to check Mizuhara-kun's soup to see if anything was different about it, but he cleaned his plate."

"How'd you do that?" Tezuka-kun said. "By having some and seeing if you die? That's not exactly a bright idea."

"Maybe not, but something's odd," I said. "All of us had at least a little of the miso stew, right?"

"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "He did eat pretty much all of his stew, but I don't think that matters. I think that whoever did this knew who'd get his bowl."

"In other words, Sugiura-san," I said. "Of course, everyone knew that she, being the Ultimate Waitress and the cook, was serving up the stew. I think it's a bit too obvious."

"Oh, a bit like how Kurogane-kun supposedly wrote your name?" Akasaka-san said. "I see what you mean."

"So do I," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, Sakuragi-kun inadvertently made several remarks that served to incriminate him during the class trial. Perhaps, to put it bluntly, if Sugiura-san is the killer, she's skilled enough to kill someone, but not enough to get away with it."

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Tezuka-kun said, "except for the fact that one of us is dead and another of us is going to die."

I nodded solemnly. The threat of death was ever-present here, and it was difficult to consider about how any time I spoke with someone could potentially be the last. In my last conversation with Mizuhara-kun, I'd held out the hope that we could get to know each other better, just like I'd hoped that Kurogane-kun would eventually find it in himself to forgive me, but my wishes had died along with each of them

"Yes, that's true," I said, "which is why we'll have to narrow down the culprit. Did any of you set foot in the kitchen between 7 and 7:30 PM?"

All three of the guys shook their heads, but Yuuki-san nodded.

"I don't think anyone besides you, me, Momo-chan and Reiko-chan did," Yuuki-san said.

"What about after the poisoning happened?" I said. "Did anyone leave the dining hall?"

"Besides you and Edogawa?" Tezuka said, before shaking his head. "No, none of us did."

"I see," I said. "I'm a bit surprised about Hoshino-kun. I didn't think he'd just follow Mitamura-san's orders without question or complaint."

"Think about it this way," Kagami-kun said. "If anyone had left the dining hall for any reason, thereby disobeying Mitamura-san at a critical point, they would have become suspicious. Hoshino-kun might dislike Mitamura-san, but he's also worried enough about his own safety to avoid doing something that would draw suspicion to himself."

For a moment, I thought back to his uncooperative nature during the investigation of the previous murder, but realized that back then, he'd justified it by saying that he couldn't trust anyone. As Kagami-kun said, if he cooperated with us, it was probably so that he wouldn't risk drawing undue suspicion to himself.

"Yeah, good point," Tezuka-kun said. "Since everyone knows he's out for himself, and he doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone else, the last thing he wants is anything that'd suggest that he actually did kill someone."

"Perhaps," I said. "Of course, knowing him, he probably would suspect anyone who'd pretend to care about others, since he doesn't think of anyone with an upstanding reputation."

"That's fair enough," Kagami-kun said. "I don't think any of us- not even him- are obviously disreputable, but who knows what sort of secrets the notepads contain?"

I nodded, then headed into the kitchen. My "weakness" was fairly asinine, but was proof that perhaps Monokuma believed we were as desperate to protect our reputations as we were to stay alive. Perhaps a trivial concern for some, but others' careers depended on their public image, and still others would sooner die than let their secrets be known. The only question that remained was who had given in to temptation and committed murder

* * *

I found Sensei in the kitchen, studying the bottle of Monokuma Poison.

"Ah, you're back," Sensei said. "Did you learn anything?"

I shook my head.

"Not much," I said. "The Monokuma File's missing important information, and Mitamura-san won't let me look around in the nurse's office unless I can convince her that there's relevant evidence there. I also found out that no one left the dining hall, but you already knew that, didn't you?"

"I do," Sensei said. "It's strange that Mitamura-san would leave me alone in the kitchen, when I might just be the suspect."

I shook my head. As biased as I was, I had evidence to prove it.

"I don't think so," I said. "After all, you didn't set foot in the kitchen while Sugiura-san was cooking did you?"

"Not at all," Sensei said. "Still, I can't help but wonder whether Mitamura-san trusts me, or if she's trying to keep me out of the way."

I was tempted to have someone else substitute for Sensei so that she could join me in the investigation, but decided against it. Mitamura-san had given an order, and two people going against it in the middle of an investigation would only serve to make us suspicious- even Hoshino-kun was cautious enough not to defy her at this point.

"What about you, Sensei?" I said. "What have you found?"

"I've had a chance to look over the Monokuma Poison bottle," Sensei said. "It says the poison takes effect immediately, and is deadly in a gaseous state. It's also vulnerable to hydrolysis, and must be kept in a cool place, away from direct sunlight."

"Hence the refrigerator," I said. "Of course, when it first went missing, I looked here and couldn't find it. I don't know where else the killer could have hid it"

Sensei shrugged.

"Another question is why Mizuhara-kun was the only one to die," Sensei said. "If the killer applied it to the stew, we'd all have died almost immediately after ingesting it. Even the killer would have probably been in danger."

"I noticed that, too," I said. "Mizuhara-kun wouldn't have made it to the nurse's office in that case. It probably would've been more convenient for the killer if he'd died instantly, though."

I pondered what would have happened if Mizuhara-kun had actually pulled through. In that case, we probably would still be trying to uncover the identity of the malefactor who'd poisoned him, simply because they could potentially do so again. Considering that would-be graduates are forced to stake their lives, those who put a plot for murder into action more or less cross the Rubicon and never look back.

Of course, I also had to wonder- if we'd found Mizuhara-kun's would-be killer, what would we have done in that situation? Considering that we didn't have anywhere we could imprison that person, and a vigilante execution would count as murder, we wouldn't have any choice but to keep an eye on them at all times, warily awaiting their next attempt and hoping it wouldn't be successful. Sensei had once said that while our criminal justice system wasn't perfect, as an institution, it was an absolute necessity for civilization, and I agreed. We needed someone more benevolent than Monokuma and wiser than us to judge this case, but until we got out, we'd have to make do and find the truth the same way we had last time.

"By the way, Miura-san," Sensei said, "I wasn't able to look at Mizuhara-kun's body, but did he have any sort of obvious signs of poisoning on him?"

"Not at all," I said. "The Monokuma File's missing information, but in this case, there wasn't anything that would match the symptoms associated with the poison."

"Then it's as I thought," Sensei said. "At this point, I'm all but certain that the poison is not the murder weapon."

"Well, you'll have to forgive the rest of us for possibly thinking otherwise," I said. "We don't have any leads."

"Neither do I," Sensei said. "I tried looking in the garbage for any kind of seal that came with the bottle, but there's nothing there. The only thing on top of the garbage is a bag of trail mix."

Something seemed odd about that piece of trash Sensei had mentioned, but I couldn't place my finger on what. The only thing that came to mind was how a snack from the second floor of the kitchen made it all the way to the kitchen on the first floor of the dorms, but that wasn't important right now.

"Maybe the culprit rummaged about and buried it under trash," I said.

"And draw attention to themselves?" Sensei said. "There's little point in disposing of evidence if you can't do so inconspicuously. As such, I can conclude that the bottle is most likely a red herring, planted to give us the impression that the culprit used it to kill Mizuhara-kun."

"But the stew's the only cause of death I can think of," I said, "which means that somehow, the culprit poisoned him. Maybe it wasn't with the Monokuma Poison, but I'm fairly sure that something that Mizuhara-kun ingested killed him."

"Indeed," Sensei said. "I'll continue looking to see if I can find anything that can indicate how, and will try to see if I can get access to the nurse's office. Try talking to everyone here and see if anyone wanted Mizuhara-kun dead."

"I will," I said. "I doubt anyone will so easily admit to having a grudge against him, though."

"Maybe not," Sensei said, "but it's also possible that if you think back on everything you've seen and heard over the past few days, you'll remember something important, even if it didn't seem significant at the time."

"I'll do what I can," I said.

I set out once again with a difficult task ahead of me, but I had two important objectives- find out how Mizuhara-kun was killed and why, then use that information to find who was responsible for his death.

* * *

I found Katsura-san and Akasaka-san waiting outside the dining hall, evidently having been looking for a chance to speak with me alone for some time.

"Oh, there you are, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Katsura-san and I have been looking for you."

"What did you want to talk with me about?"I said.

"We have a question," Katsura-san said. "Just wondering, but whose weakness did you get?"

"Yuuki-san's," I said, and then showed the two girls my notepad, causing their eyes to widen in surprise and glance at each other.

"That's strange..." Katsura-san said. "Akasaka-san, let's show her our weaknesses."

The two girls got out their notepads, and Akasaka-san turned hers on first. It showed a cartoonish image of a gray figure garroting Katsura-san from behind, while Katsura-san's eyes bulged in an equally cartoonish manner.

 _Komaki Katsura might not look it, but she panics when she can't breathe, due to a traumatic near-drowning experience as a little girl. Drown her, strangle her, or suffocate her, and she's as good as dead...then just plain dead._

 _Now who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Komaki Katsura!_

Immediately after Akasaka-san was finished, Katsura-san went next. In it, a gray figure smiled as some cartoonish-looking dogs ate Akasaka-san alive.

 _Kuro Akasaka is the living reason why her family has never gotten a dog, and for good reason- she's allergic to them. Man's best friend is her worst enemy, so bring one along if you want to kill her._

 _Now who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Kaori Miura!_

"That's odd..." I said. "I tested this out with Yuuki-san and Sensei, and the notifications were accurate in that case. Did Monokuma give them to different people at the last minute?"

"I don't know," Katsura-san said. "I've been asking around, and this is the first case I've heard of."

"That could complicate things," I said. "It's possible that the killer committed murder to keep their weakness secret, but maybe the victim doesn't necessarily have their weakness, right?"

Katsura-san nodded.

"That's possible," Katsura-san said. "Of course, it's possible that they knew that killing someone and graduating would help keep their secret hidden. Do you have any specific theories in mind?"

"I might," I said. "The last time I spoke to Mizuhara-kun, he seemed troubled by what was on his notepad- apparently, he had a very important secret, even if he didn't say whose."

We stood in silence a moment, thinking and pondering the killer's motivations. Perhaps if the indications of who had whose weakness were wrong, maybe someone had two different weaknesses, which appeared in two of their classmates' notepads. Unfortunately, there wasn't any evidence to support this, so I didn't see any point in pursuing this line of questioning for now.

"Ah, that reminds me," Akasaka-san said. "Shortly before lunch, I went to my room to retrieve the checkers set for a quick game of checkers with Katsura-san. When I got there, I noticed Mitamura-san inviting Mizuhara-kun over to her room. I don't know what they talked about, though."

"Maybe the information I got," I said, "but there's two problems. First, without his notepad, we won't know who might have been targeting him. Second, even if we do find his notepad, the killer might have gotten an incorrect report of who got their weakness."

"That's true," Katsura-san said. "Still, we have no choice but to keep searching and investigate every lead, so perhaps you should keep that in mind."

I nodded, then resumed my investigation.

* * *

I quickly stopped by the warehouse, in search of anything else that could have been used to poison Mizuhara-kun, and saw Fukuda-kun there, apparently looking for the same thing.

"Oh, hi, Miura," Fukuda-kun said.

"Hello, Fukuda-kun," I said. "What are you looking for here?"

"A possible murder weapon," Fukuda-kun said. "I can't help but wonder if that the bottle of poison you and Edogawa found wasn't what killed Mizuhara."

"I think so, too," I said. "Sensei and I looked at the bottle, and saw that the systems aren't consistent with what the Monokuma Poison causes. I'm trying to find out what else could have killed Mizuhara-kun."

"Me too," Fukuda-kun said. "I wonder if the killer put bleach or other household chemicals in the stew."

"That's possible, but I doubt it," I said. "Mizuhara-kun said the stew was delicious, so if they'd poured enough of a lethal chemical in for him to get a fatal dose, he'd probably have tasted it."

"Gotcha," Fukuda-kun said. "I was just talking to Akasaka earlier, and mentioned this theory, since she has to keep that sort of stuff out of the reach of her little brother and sisters. She has nightmares about what drain cleaner would do to their innards."

My parents had been similarly diligent about keeping their daughters safe when my sister and I had been young, and had made sure that warning labels were one of the first things we learned how to read. I could only imagine how they'd feel if they found out that my life was in almost constant danger while I was in here.

"I get where she's coming from," I said, "but it looks like we'll have to consider other possibilities as to what poisoned Mizuhara-kun."

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "Something that's poisonous, but has uses other than poisoning people, huh...? I wish I knew what that was..."

I left Fukuda-kun to his thoughts as I set off to resume my investigate. Everyone probably had their own theories about how Mizuhara-kun was killed, but there was only one truth that, once uncovered, would help us realize the culprit's identity and survive.

* * *

I saw Inoue-kun on the first floor of the school, evidently having just finished talking with Tezuka-kun. I couldn't hear what they were discussing, but after she left, he turned and noticed me.

"Ah, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "Have you been investigating, too?"

"I have," I said. "I'm currently trying to figure out who had his weakness, or whose weakness he had."

"Well, it wasn't me," Inoue-kun said. "It seems Tezuka-kun and I got each other's weaknesses."

"I see," I said. "That's two more people accounted for."

"True," Inoue-kun said. "I think I've figured out what weaknesses most of us have. There's only a few I haven't figured out- Hoshino-kun, Mizuhara-kun, Sugiura-san, Iwasawa-san and Mitamura-san."

I nodded, impressed at how much progress Inoue-kun had made on his own.

"Anyway, how are you holding up?" I said.

"So-so," Inoue-kun said. "I know our odds aren't all that good, especially not when there's thirteen of us left- twelve suspects besides me. It also doesn't help that the killer somehow poisoned Mizuhara-kun under our noses."

I sighed. The murder would likely be more complex than the first, considering that it was less obvious who did it. Everyone had gone near the dining hall near the time of the murder, even if only four people besides me had gone in the kitchen, so we had to determine who actually had managed to poison the stew, as well as how.

"True," I said. "Still, as long as we figure out how the killer got the poison and who had access to the kitchen, we should be able to narrow down the list of suspects."

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, even if I'm hardly the best person for solving mysteries, I can't afford to give up. I know that last time, I said that we should be prepared to meet any higher powers that might exist, but when I saw the steamroller crush Sakuragi-kun, I knew that if we'd failed, all of us would have suffered that same fate. It might not be entirely up to me, but... I'm not ready to die yet, and I'm pretty sure everyone else feels the same way."

"I know," I said. "In our last conversation, Mizuhara-kun said that even if we weren't friends just yet, he _wanted to be_ someday. He didn't fully trust me, but I'm sure he liked and cared about me, even though I was someone he'd just met, and wanted everyone who was left to get out alive. I don't know who'd kill him or why, but I'm going to find the killer so that the rest of us can stay alive."

"That's good," Inoue-kun said. "I can't promise too much, but I'll do what I can to help with that."

Inoue-kun and I parted ways. At this point, he was an unlikely suspect, so I felt some relief, but knew that even in the best-case scenario, we'd lose a fourth member by the end of the night. Still, twelve out of the thirteen of us shared a common interest in staying alive, so I was glad that some of us were willing to pitch in, help out and do what was necessary to survive.

* * *

On my way up to the second floor, I encountered Kagami-kun on the stairs and got his attention.

"Something I can help you with, Miura-san?" Kagami-kun said.

"I've got a question," I said. "Do you think that Mizuhara-kun's killer believed him to be the mastermind?"

Kagami-kun shrugged. It wasn't fair to ask him to give a definite answer to a question about a third party's thoughts, but this was something I'd been curious about, and he seemed like the person to talk with about it.

"Maybe," Kagami-kun said, "but I know Mizuhara-kun isn't the mastermind."

"Why's that?"

"Well, the killing game's still going, right? Monokuma did say that it'd end once the mastermind died."

I had to wonder why the mastermind would be willing to let us go and let everything they'd worked for fall apart after their death. That said, the incentive to end the game by killing one person could potentially provoke people to murder, and if Mizuhara-kun's killer had killed him out of the belief that he was the mastermind, it had succeeded.

"I know you're busy investigating, Miura-san, but I'd like to know something," Kagami-kun said. "What do you think about the people who kill in this killing game?"

I hesitated to reply, not because doing so would use up precious time, but because Kagami-kun had posed a difficult question. If, however, answering it would make him more willing to cooperate, I thought it was worth my while.

"It's hard to say," I said. "Murder is a crime, but I know that the culprit probably has their reasons for wanting to escape, possibly ones that I could sympathize with. Because of that, I don't condone their actions, but I don't think they deserve to die, and I'm pretty sure any Japanese judge would agree with me."

"True," Kagami-kun said. "But what about everyone else- those of us who've done nothing wrong?"

"No, we don't deserve that, either," I said. "None of us deserves to be trapped here, or to die without seeing our homes, family and friends again. Of course, as terrible as the idea of sacrificing a classmate to stay alive is, it's the lesser evil compared to everyone else dying- not to mention the one everyone chose last time."

I thought back to the previous voting time, and how everyone, including the unlikely individuals, had voted for Sakuragi-kun. Akasaka-san had probably cried herself to sleep that night, but she'd chosen to vote for Sakuragi-kun, and knew she was alive because everyone had done so. The same went for Yuuki-san, who didn't seem like she could hurt a fly, but she knew that this was the only real choice she had. Even the relatively pragmatic and logical Katsura-san took no joy in her decision, so neither did I. That said, even though I wished we'd never have another class trial, I knew that I'd do what I must when the time to vote came once again.

"I know," Kagami-kun said. "Thank you for your time, Miura-san- I'm relieved to know at least some of us have the right mindset."

I nodded, then got back to my investigation. While the fact that not one, but two, murders had already occurred hardly supported an optimistic view of human nature, that didn't necessarily mean we were bad people. Some of us were desperate, and not all of us could be trusted, but the spotless had a common interest in getting through the class trials, and whatever our feelings were, we could see the truth and do what we had to.

* * *

I found Sugiura-san outside the faculty lounge, looking in the refrigerator. Except for showing Sensei the vending machine, I'd kept my promise to Mitamura-san, but it was only natural that people would find out about someone obtaining the poison anyway.

"Sugiura-san?" I said. "Do you have a minute to answer a few questions?"

Sugiura-san turned around to face me, then nodded hesitantly.

"I do," Sugiura-san said, "but please be honest, Miura-san. Do you suspect me?"

I shrugged. It would be dishonest to say 'no', but too premature to officially say that she might have done it.

"I'll concede that you might have done it," I said, "but I'm hesitant to say that for sure. You're probably everyone's first choice for a suspect, but it's possible that if someone else is the killer, they were counting on it. So please, tell me what you know."

"All right," Sugiura-san said. "I tasted the soup at around 7:27 PM, just before we served it, and didn't notice anything unusual. Mitamura-san saw me do this, so she can confirm it."

"So the poison wasn't in the stew pot at the time," I said. "Either it somehow got in the pot after you tasted it, or was directly applied to Mizuhara-kun's bowl."

Sugiura-san furrowed her brow. If either was true, then she was at the very least guilty of negligence, if not actual murder. Her taking umbrage was understandable, but this had to be said.

"I wouldn't know," Sugiura-san said. "Everyone else ate the stew, but only Mizuhara-san died. If it had been in the pot, several other people would have been fatally poisoned."

I nodded, realizing that I'd need to rethink my theories as to how the poison got applied to the pot. For now, I had something else to ask about.

"Out of curiosity, whose weakness did you get?" I said.

"Iwasawa-san's," Sugiura-san said. "It says she's no good with tech, which I suppose we know already."

"That's true," I said. "Who got yours?"

"That doesn't matter," Sugiura-san said. "If Mizuhara-san is the victim, then there are two possible ways he comes in. Either he had information his killer wanted to keep secret, or his killer knew his weakness."

"True," I said. "Since the former is a possibility, I'd like to know who got yours."

"Edogawa-san did," Sugiura-san said. "You seem like you're getting along fairly well with her, so maybe she'll show it to you."

I remembered what Sensei had showed me, and knew Sugiura-san was lying. Maybe her information was wrong, but since Katsura-san and Akasaka-san hadn't told anyone else, Sugiura-san should have had no reason to consider the possibility.

"If that's all you want to know, I have some things I need to look into," Sugiura-san said. "I'll see you at the trial."

Sugiura-san briskly walked away, at the speed of a waitress quickly getting a tray to a table during the lunch rush. As hard as it was to believe that she'd commit a murder under circumstances in which she was the most obvious suspect, she had just lied to me. She was hiding something, but what was her secret, and how did it fit into the case? My conversation had raised more questions than answers, and I had little time to find the truth.

* * *

I asked the other students about their weaknesses and alibis, but didn't get much that was useful. The few who were willing to show me their notepads didn't have any relevant information.

Knowing that my time was likely running out, I met up with Iwasawa-san in the hallway near the dorms.

"Is there something I can do for you, Miss Miura?" Iwasawa-san said.

"Iwasawa-san, I have some questions I'd like to ask you," I said. "When exactly did you go into the kitchen, and did you have any of the stew?"

"Once, around 7:10 PM," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Sugiura said she wasn't nearly done yet, so she wouldn't let me taste it."

If Iwasawa-san's account was true, then it was highly unlikely that she added the poison to the stew pot- otherwise, Sugiura-san would have poisoned herself when she tasted the stew. Of course, given that the culprit had found a way to ensure that only Mizuhara-kun died, perhaps I'd have to think about how the culprit poisoned his bowl, or perhaps think outside the box.

"Did anything seem odd about the stew?" I said.

"I'm not sure," Iwasawa-san said. "It tasted different from the soup I have at home, but maybe Miss Sugiura's recipe is different."

Unsurprisingly, most of my lines of questioning didn't yield much information, so I decided to try something else. I didn't know where it would lead, but knew that Iwasawa-san was likely the only person I could ask about it.

"There's something else I'd like to know, even if it may seem irrelevant," I said. "I remember you loaning your notepad to Mitamura-san two days ago- was she able to fix it?"

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"Not at all," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura spent every free moment she had on it, and returned it to me early the next morning, after giving up. She apologized for failing to fix it, but I said _I_ was sorry for wasting her time."

"Can you show it to me?" I said.

"Certainly," Iwasawa-san said. She led me to her room, and after she unlocked and opened the door, I followed her inside.

Iwasawa-san walked over to her desk, and opened up her drawer- I noticed her handcuffs, still in the sealed box, as well as her notepad. She got out her notepad and tried to turn it on, only for the screen to briefly show a flashing battery icon.

"So the battery's dead," I said, "and without a charger, there's no way to access the information on it. I wonder if Monokuma was lying about his threat to give it to someone else."

"That's what Miss Mitamura told me," Iwasawa-san said. "But if you don't mind my asking, Miss Miura, why do you want to know?"

"I have to explore every possibility," I said, "including that someone found out something that they weren't supposed to, since we don't know who has your weakness."

"Ah," Iwasawa-san said. "I forgot about each notepad saying who has your weakness, since I haven't been able to look at mine."

At this point, I'd accounted for most of the survivors' weaknesses, with a few exceptions- notably Mitamura-san, Kagami-kun, Sugiura-san and Iwasawa-san, all of whom were possible suspects. I needed some piece of evidence to narrow them down, whether by connecting one to the crime or ruling out the other two, but how could I do that?

The monitors then turned on, and I knew I was out of time.

"It is time for the class trial," Monokuma said. "Please convene in front of the elevator on the first floor."

The monitor then deactivated. As it did, I turned back to Iwasawa-san, who was kneeling in prayer.

"So it's that time again," I said. "Once again, I'm going into a class trial without fully understanding what happened."

"I'm fairly sure no one knows the full story, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said as she rose to her feet. "Still, if anyone can put the pieces together and find out who did it, I'm sure you can."

"I'm glad you think I'm up to the task," I said, "but I can't help but feel nervous considering what's at stake."

"I know," Iwasawa-san said, "but so does everyone else, so you won't be in it alone. The other spotless will be contributing to the trial, and I'm sure that the killer will make a mistake sooner or later, just like Mr. Sakuragi did."

What Iwasawa-san was saying was true, since it had happened in the last trial, but it also drove home an uncomfortable truth. Once again, we'd been betrayed, by someone willing to kill one of us and let the others die just to escape, and considering the circumstances, Iwasawa-san could be that person.

* * *

We gathered near the elevator, our group significantly smaller than the last time we'd gone down to the courtroom. The others stood in nervous silence, since while we knew we had it in us to solve the mystery and find the killer, we also knew what sort of price the blackened would pay for their crime.

"So, Inoue," Tezuka-kun said, "you worried about going down the elevator with 13 of us?"

"Not exactly," Inoue-kun said. "First, while I usually see 13 as a sign of bad luck, it's worth noting that it's been one stroke of bad luck after another since coming here, so I don't think too much about omens of bad luck anymore. Second... there's only twelve of us here."

I looked around, and confirmed that Inoue-kun's count was correct. Noticing that Sensei was missing, I feared the worst for a moment. Moments later, the nearby monitor came on.

"Looks like you're all here," Monokuma said, "or rather, _almost_ all of you. Edogawa-san had better get here soon, or she'll be in tro-o-ouble."

We all looked at each other, equally confused as to where Sensei was, even if not all of us showed it.

"Another murder?" Hoshino-kun said. "Seems like overkill, if you ask me- if the blackened gets away, the rest of us die anyway."

"Not this time," Fukuda-kun said, "Look, there she is."

Sensei dashed over, slightly out of breath. I could tell that she wasn't exactly a star student in gym class, either.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Sensei said. "There was something I needed to look into."

Mitamura-san furrowed her brow and frowned at Sensei, once again showing her implicit dislike of Sensei, even if she was too polite to express it openly.

"There she is," Monokuma said. "We're a bit behind schedule, so please board the elevator and ride it down to the courtroom."

As we boarded the elevator, I noticed we weren't as densely packed in as last time. There was enough space that Sensei was able to pull me aside once again, into a corner near the door.

"Where were you, Sensei?" I said in a hushed tone.

"I was investigating the nurse's office," Sensei said, "since I had a narrow window of time between Mitamura-san's departure and the start of the trial. It was a somewhat hasty investigation, but I was able to find this."

Sensei then reached into the pocket of her blazer and picked out an syringe in a case that had the name "Minato Mizuhara" printed on it

"What's this?" I said.

"Apparently, medicine to treat an allergic reaction," Sensei said, reading off the label. "It's possible that Mizuhara-kun was allergic to something he ate, but that doesn't get me any closer to finding out who his killer is."

"Theoretically, anyone could have done it," I said, "if they knew how. If only we knew what his weakness was, or who had it..."

"Exactly, Miura-san," Sensei said, "and that's where you come in."

"Me?" I said incredulously.

Sensei nodded.

"Yes," Sensei said. "Detective work is more than finding evidence- it's about understanding its significance, both individually and in conjunction with other information. You've proved your skill when you summarized the events of the last murder, so I'm confident you'll do well again this time."

I nodded. Sensei had always seemed like the most reliable of us, and not just because I admired her so much, so I was a bit surprised that _she_ said she was counting on _me_. Despite that, I trusted her judgment, and hoped her confidence in me was well-placed.

"I don't think it's something only I can do," I said, "but you can count on me."

Sensei nodded appreciatively, and we rode the rest of the way down in silence. While Sakuragi-kun had possibly killed Kurogane-kun on the spur of the moment, Mizuhara-kun's killer had been more careful, having evidently planned in advance and covered their own tracks. Not only did we have to figure out who killed him, but also how and why.

Minato Mizuhara was the Ultimate Fisherman. Despite being good-natured, he'd kept a certain distance from us, and didn't seem to fully trust me. Even so, he wanted to escape, and reunite with us in a place where he wouldn't have to fear for his life, where we could be friends without fearing deadly betrayal... and his death meant he'd never get that chance. For his sake, and that of everyone who'd died so far, I vowed to find the truth and ensure that the spotless lived to see another day.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Next up is the trial.

Once again, there's a poll on my profile asking who you think is the culprit. While Miura has a list of possible suspects right now, the culprit may not be among them.


	10. Chapter II, Part 5

_Class Trial_

We returned to the courtroom, which had two fewer people than last time. In their places were portraits with crossed out faces, but while Mizuhara-kun's X looked like Kurogane-kun's, Sakuragi-kun's looked like it was made out of broken finish line ribbons.

I also noticed a change to the surrounding walls. While the courtroom for the first trial had been largely brick red, now, it was mostly blue, as if it was the color of water.

"All right, you bastards," Monokuma said. "Court is now in session for the trial of... forget it. It's your job to figure out who killed Mizuhara-kun, if you want to live. Of course, it's the blackened's job to make sure you _don't_ , if _they_ want to live. Time for this game of cat and mouse to begin!"

"Before we start, I have a question," Sensei said. "This seems to be a poisoning, but Sugiura-san cooked and served the deadly stew, while Mizuhara-kun himself ate it of his own free will. Is the person who poisoned it the culprit?"

"Yes indeed!" Monokuma said. "The blackened in this case is whoever added the 'special ingredient' that did poor Mizuhara-kun in. Of course, that might just be Mizuhara-kun himself if he wanted to shuffle off this mortal coil that badly!"

"So in other words, he might have committed suicide?" Sensei said.

"Not telling!" Monokuma said. "All I said was that it's a possibility. For all you know, something besides the stew killed him."

As disturbing as it was to consider, suicide was a possibility in this killing game. If people could be pushed far enough to take someone else's life in order to escape, then perhaps they could also be pushed to take their own.

"It may be possible that Mizuhara-kun committed suicide," I said, "but some things don't add up. For one, he was shocked and terrified as the poison started affecting him. That certainly doesn't sound like the behavior of someone who expects and wants to die."

"Maybe he was just acting," Hoshino-kun said. "He might've wanted us to think he'd been murdered so that we'd pick the wrong culprit and get executed."

"It's possible," I said, "but why do you think he'd do that? Sakuragi-kun's murder of Kurogane-kun was largely motivated by his desire to survive and escape. Even if Mizuhara-kun wanted us dead, then it's a bit hard to believe that he'd go with a method of killing us that would also involve his death."

Others murmured in agreement.

"Yeah, I agree," Fukuda-kun said. "Some people are willing to die for a cause they believe in, but even if Mizuhara wasn't close to anyone here, I don't think he hated us enough to give his life to wipe us all out."

"Maybe his death wouldn't be guaranteed," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura, with the help of Miss Miura and Miss Edogawa, tried to save him. If they'd succeeded, his plan wouldn't even have started."

I nodded. If I wanted to kill myself, then I could simply lock myself in my room, write a suicide note and hang myself with my necktie, preferably when everyone else had an alibi. No one would be able to save me, and if they found my body, they'd be able to rule out the possibility that I was murdered.

Of course, that was _if_ I wanted to commit suicide, and there were many reasons why I didn't. I knew that if I died, my family and friends outside, as well as some of those trapped here with me, would be sad- after all, I still mourned Mizuhara-kun, even if he wasn't entirely a friend. I felt a sense of duty to the group, and so believed I was obligated to stay alive to help them in class trials and with escaping the school. Lastly, and most simply, I didn't want to die so young and with so much I still wanted to do with my life, and knew most of my classmates felt the same way. Three people had died so far and a fourth would soon join them, but at least no one was choosing death.

"Besides," Sugiura-san said, "Mizuhara-san never set foot in the kitchen while I was preparing the stew. Setting aside why he'd kill himself or why he'd do so in this manner, he couldn't have poisoned the stew pot."

Iwasawa-san let out a sigh of relief. From what I'd heard, the Bible said that people who killed themselves would go to Hell for eternity, so it was clear that she was glad she could hold out hope that Mizuhara-kun was in a better place now.

"That's right," Fukuda-kun said. "For the record, who, besides you, went in the kitchen?"

"Let's see..." Sugiura-san said. "Miura-san checked on me around the time I started dinner. Iwasawa-san stopped by a few minutes later, when I had all the ingredients in the pot. Yuuki-san came by a few minutes before the stew was finished, and had a taste, as did I. Shortly before I served it, Mitamura-san showed up, to see how I was coming along."

"So someone poisoned the pot after Yuuki came in?" Tezuka-kun said. "Mitamura seems pretty suspicious, if you ask me."

"That is impossible, Tezuka-san," Mitamura-san said. "Except for Sugiura-san, who was busy serving dinner, everyone had at least some of the stew. If the pot itself had been poisoned, so, too, would all of our bowls."

"But Mizuhara-kun's the only one who died," Akasaka-san said. "Is it possible that the culprit poisoned one bowl and hoped it would kill a random person?"

"Good point," Inoue-kun said. "It doesn't matter who you kill as long as you get away with it, after all. Besides, if you graduate, everyone else dies, remember?"

"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said, "but it's also possible that the culprit specifically chose Mizuhara-san. The culprit most likely knew which bowl would go to Mizuhara-san, and could have applied the poison directly to that bowl."

"Really?" Yuuki-san said. "It's not like there's names or other marks on the bowls- they all look the same. I don't think even Anzu-chan could tell the poisoned bowl apart from the others."

"Maybe she couldn't," Tezuka-kun said, "but as long as the poisoner doesn't eat any of the soup, they won't be in any danger."

The courtroom fell silent for a moment. Everyone knew where Tezuka-kun was going with his argument, and Hoshino-kun was the first to point it out.

"And there's only one person who fits the description," Hoshino-kun said. "It's you, Sugiura."

Sugiura-san looked taken aback, and for good reason. While she, as the cook, was definitely suspicious, it was far too early to say with any degree of certainty that she was the culprit.

"Wh-Why me?" Sugiura-san said.

"You were in the kitchen for the entire time and responsible for serving it," Hoshino-kun said. "You could have put poison in Mizuhara's bowl, handed him the bowl and watch him poison himself."

"Would the killer need to specifically choose Mizuhara-kun?" Sensei said. "As Akasaka-san and Inoue-kun said, anyone would do for someone wishing to graduate."

"They may have chosen a specific target for a personal reason," Katsura-san said. "Perhaps the victim, whom we shall call Person B, had some piece of information the culprit, Person A, wished to keep hidden. Even if, for example, Person C murdered Person D and was executed, Person B would still have Person A's information, and thus be a threat. As such, Persona A would probably plot a murder if Person B's information could potentially ruin their life or facilitate their murder."

I remembered the last real conversation I'd had with Mizuhara-kun, in which he vaguely suggested that he had some important information, but didn't say what- or whose- it was. For the moment, I decided not to mention it, since while we were certain that he'd been killed over what had been in his notepad, we didn't know who would kill him.

"But at the same time, we don't know whose information Minato-kun had," Yuuki-san said.

"I do," Mitamura-san said. "Mizuhara-san was carrying his notepad with him when he died, and I looked at it during the investigation. I believe listening to it will shed some light on his killer."

Sensei's eyes widened for a moment, as she likely had the same thought I did.

Mitamura-san knelt down, then stood up, holding a notepad. She turned it on and played it for all of us.

 _Anzu Sugiura isn't just the Ultimate Waitress... she's also the **Ultimate Poisoner**! But she's not too proud of that, though. Bring that up and she might just kill you... or maybe herself!_

Instead of showing us a cartoonish image of Sugiura-san, the notepad showed us some document, similar to those Sensei had been looking at when she'd first went to the library. Apparently, Sugiura-san had been one of the suspects in the case in question.

 _Now who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Anzu Sugiura!_

A stunned silence reigned in the courtroom, and Sugiura-san went white as a sheet. I could see why Mizuhara-kun had been unsure what to do with this information- now that it had gotten out, Sugiura-san was the prime suspect in his murder, since she had the most reason to kill to keep it secret.

A part of me was tempted to consider this a slam dunk. If Sugiura-san was, indeed, guilty, she would have to die, but the rest of us would survive, and we would perhaps get justice for an unpunished murder. Another part, however, suspected that the true killer was someone else, and that person was counting on us to make this knee-jerk reaction.

"Th-That's a lie!" Sugiura-san said. "W-We know Monokuma c-can't be t-trusted, after all."

"Sugiura-san has a point," Katsura-san said. "My notepad said Miura-san has my weakness, but in reality, Akasaka-san got it. Perhaps not all the information is accurate."

"That's right," I said. "I actually have Yuuki-san's weakness. It's possible that not all the information is reliable."

"Maybe you're right," Hoshino-kun said, "but if what we just heard is complete BS, then why's Sugiura panicking?"

"I'm not saying it isn't," I said, "but given how little we know each other, and how on-edge everyone is, then even if it's a lie, Sugiura-san does have reason to be worried about how we'll take it."

I felt like I was grasping at straws here, but something seemed a little too obvious. Everyone knew Sugiura-san had made the dish, so why would she poison it? If there was any chance of her "true" talent being discovered, why would she use it for murder?

"That may be so, but I believe we have a strong basis for naming Sugiura-san as the blackened," Mitamura-san said. "Since Mizuhara-san knew about her identity, she would likely want to kill him to keep it a secret. Furthermore, Sugiura-san's knowledge of Mizuhara-san's weakness would help her plot a murder."

"What about the poison?" Fukuda-kun said.

"I believe Edogawa-san found some in the refrigerator," Mitamura-san said. "Sugiura-san must have obtained it from the vending machine, likely exulting at having found such a deadly poison to use, and so plotted to use it to kill Mizuhara-san."

Judging from the time when the poison went missing, the culprit- whether Sugiura-san or anyone else- had ample time to come up with a murder plan.

"Yes, but-," Sensei began, before Sugiura-san cut her off.

"I..I didn't kill anyone..." Sugiura-san said.

"And, as the person responsible for making and serving the stew, you had the most chances to give Mizuhara-san the poison," Mitamura-san said. "As such, you are the most likely culprit."

"You...You..." Sugiura-san said, stammering and trembling.

I looked around. Most of our eyes fell on Sugiura-san, and I could see the same suspicion in them that had been cast on Sakuragi-kun late in the first trial. Perhaps some of us had hesitated to condemn him to death, since he was partially a victim of his circumstances, but this time, we were possibly dealing with someone who had killed before coming here, and had proven all too willing to kill again to save herself. Something still didn't seem entirely right about this, but how could I convince everyone?

"Sugiura-san, please confess," Mitamura-san said. "If you do, we will be able to uncover the truth behind-"

"Like hell I will!" Sugiura-san shouted, a fierce glare on her face. "You set me up, you self-righteous bitch!"

Everyone was stunned. Some of us had our mouths gaping open, and a few simply stared in silence. While none of us knew each other very well, we'd spent enough time around each other to get a general feel for each other's personalities, and maybe even learn a few of our classmates' quirks. The only thing most of us knew about Sugiura-san, apart from her talent, was that she was a well-mannered individual, so it was a bit of a shock to have even that thrown into doubt.

"Surprised?" Sugiura-san said. "Well, unlike our dear leader thought, I didn't become Ultimate Waitress by being some empty-headed bimbo. That polite, sweet, demure girl you knew? It was all just an act, one I put on to fit in. If I get in trouble for being less than absolutely polite to the customers, then it won't do to show this side of me, will it?"

"Of course not," Mitamura-san said. "I appreciate that you are finally being honest with us, Sugiura-san- it would seem we now know your true personality. Now, all that is left is to confess your murder, and you can die with a clear conscience."

"Very funny, Mitamura," Sugiura-san said. "I suppose lying and throwing people under the bus comes naturally to a two-faced shrew like you."

"Please calm down, both of you," Sensei said. "Sugiura-san, you must admit that you are a suspect at this point. However, Mitamura-san, I believe the evidence against Sugiura-san is inconclusive."

"How so?" Mitamura-san said. "You found the bottle of poison inside the refrigerator, did you not?"

Sensei nodded, but then held up the bottle.

"Take a look at the back," Sensei said. "The poison apparently causes the eyes to be bloodshot, but according to Miura-san, Mizuhara-kun had no such symptoms. As such, it was likely planted to make us assume that it was the murder weapon."

"But who, apart from Sugiura-san, could have planted it?" Mitamura-san said.

"You did," Sugiura-san said. "I didn't mention this before, but when you stopped by the kitchen, I heard you open the refrigerator door. That must have been when you hid it in there."

"A likely story," Mitamura-san said dismissively. "After all, as our prime suspect, you have the most reason to lie. Unless you come up with something- whether true or false- to convince us that you are not the killer, your life is forfeit."

As hesitant as I was to take sides in this argument, the evidence I had seemed to line up with Sugiura-san's position. Perhaps by backing her up, we could get a step closer to finding the truth.

"It is possible," I said. "Unless Sugiura-san opened the refrigerator after you did, then you could have placed it in there. Sensei and I probably would have found it fairly soon if we'd looked in the refrigerator first."

"Besides, there's another problem," Yuuki-san said, "I get that Anzu-chan's suspicious because she prepared dinner, but don't you think it's a bit too obvious?"

"I do not understand, Yuuki-san," Mitamura-san said. "No one would question Sugiura-san's presence in the kitchen."

"Yeah, but everyone knows she was in there," Yuuki-san said, "so Anzu-chan must've known she'd be the first suspect if she'd planned the murder. It'd be a lot more suspicious if someone popped in and out, like you did, Reiko-chan."

"She wasn't the only one," Sugiura-san said. "As we said before, you, Iwasawa and Miura also went in the kitchen."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure we can rule out Kaori-chan and Momo-chan," Yuuki-san said. "I tasted the stew, so nothing seemed to be wrong with it."

"But what about the bowls?" Fukuda-kun said. "We already established that the culprit poisoned Mizuhara's bowl, didn't we?"

"We did," Iwasawa-san said, "but I didn't see any bowls out when I came in, so Miss Miura couldn't have done it."

"That's true," Sugiura-san said. "Besides, I was only getting out ingredients at the moment, and didn't let Miura out of my sight at any point, so it's safe to rule her out."

I nodded gratefully. We'd gotten close to convicting the wrong person, so the last thing I wanted was to be erroneously named as a possible suspect.

"I also think we can rule out Iwasawa-san," I said. "While she's normally the cook, she didn't hear that Sugiura-san was cooking until just before dinner. She would have had to drastically alter her plan at the last minute, which would have been highly risky."

For a moment, I reflected on how one person had known about tonight's dinner having a different cook, but didn't bring it up until I could prove it.

"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said, "but given the time limit, this was the last chance for the killer to poison someone during a meal."

"That's right," Sugiura-san said, "and who do you think came up with the idea of making me cook dinner?"

"I did," Mitamura-san said. "However, I had some of the stew that I supposedly poisoned, a move that would have been extremely risky if I had dumped the Monokuma poison in the stew bowl, without knowing which bowl I would get."

"But you didn't," Sensei said. "First, the bottle of poison doesn't even have a drop left in it- it's far too thoroughly cleaned out for a hasty poisoning job. Second, considering how volatile it is, the poisoner would need to be extremely careful with it. Third, the poison kills immediately, and Mizuhara-kun lasted a few minutes."

"That's right," I said. "Besides, Mitamura-san, as you said, everyone besides Sugiura-san had some of the soup, but only Mizuhara-kun died. If the poison had been dumped into the stew, everyone who even had a taste would have died quickly but no one else noticed anything even slightly odd about theirs."

"Now that I think about it, there was something odd about it," Katsura-san said. "I could have sworn I tasted a faint hint of peanut."

"So did I," Akasaka-san said. "Sugiura-san, did you add any nuts?"

"Not at all," Sugiura-san said, "since one of my aunts- my father's younger brother's wife- is allergic to them, and my parents serve it every time we have her over. Here, have a look at the list of ingredients."

Sugiura-san passed the list around. When I had my turn, I took a quick glance at it, and saw that among the various ingredients- meat, vegetables, broth, all sorts of other things- no nuts were listed. After reading it, it became clear how Mizuhara-kun had been killed.

"I've had my suspicions before, but now I'm certain," I said. "Mizuhara-kun was allergic to nuts."

"How do you know this?" Mitamura-san said.

"Back when we were investigating the first floor, I ran into Mizuhara-kun in the kitchen," I said. "He was looking all over for anything that people might have been allergic to, even if he wasn't willing to say why."

I turned to Sensei, and she silently nodded, before reaching into her pocket.

"I suspected that myself after seeing that his symptoms didn't match the poison," Sensei said, "as well as finding a bag of trail mix- which contains nuts- in the trash inside the kitchen. I didn't know for certain until I found this in the nurse's office, and found this."

Sensei held out Mizuhara-kun's syringe, having finally obtained the evidence to make it relevant to the trial.

"Wait, when did you find this?" Mitamura-san said, suddenly raising her voice. "Was it just before the trial?"

"Indeed," Sensei said. "Your keeping me out of the nurse's office was due to one of two reasons- distrust or fear I would find something incriminating. I also noticed that you'd removed the notepad from Mizuhara-kun's backpack, likely to keep that bit of evidence to yourself."

"And where would I obtain the nuts?" Mitamura-san said. "I searched the kitchen on the first day, and did not find any in there."

I sighed and shook my head, wondering why Mitamura-san was playing dumb at a time like this.

"From the vending machine in the faculty lounge," I said, "which might also explain where you got the bottle of Monokuma Poison to use as the fake 'murder weapon.'"

"Anyone could have obtained those peanuts- or even the Monokuma Poison, if they were lucky enough," Mitamura-san said. "But Sugiura-san received Mizuhara-san's information, so she is the only one who could have known about his allergies."

"No, I didn't," Sugiura-san said. "Want me to prove it?"

Sugiura-san then lifted up her notepad for all to see, then turned it on.

 _Momo Iwasawa is a simple farm girl who can't figure out technology to save her life... maybe even literally._

 _Now, who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Minato Mizuhara!_

People let out gasps, not at what information the notepad had, but at what it _didn't_ have. Iwasawa-san's weakness was almost useless information, but if Sugiura-san didn't have Mizuhara-kun's weakness, it made her a much less likely suspect. Mitamura-san's composure faltered for a moment, one of the few times I'd seen her taken completely by surprise.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mitamura-san said. "I was certain that Mizuhara-san's notepad was accurate!"

"Whoopsie!" Monokuma said. "It looks like the details were wrong. Sugiura-san was the one who was supposed to get Mizuhara-kun's weakness, but it ended up going to Mitamura-san instead."

I was very doubtful that this was an accident. It was much more in character for Monokuma to confuse us so that we would suspect Sugiura-san, the obvious suspect. Regardless of how it happened, two likely suspects had been reduced to one person who was almost certainly the culprit. It was difficult to imagine what the long-term ramifications of accusing that person would be, but I knew that if we didn't identify the culprit, the rest of us would be dead by tomorrow morning.

"Then that settles it," I said. "I believe that the person who poisoned Mizuhara-kun... is you, Mitamura-san."

Mitamura-san frowned at me disapprovingly. As composed as she usually was, I expected a more extreme response from her given the gravity of my accusation, so maybe she wasn't taking me completely seriously. Neither was Iwasawa-san, who seemed slightly bothered, but didn't seem as outraged as I'd thought over the young lady she respected most being accused of murder.

"This is neither the time nor the place for unsubstantiated assertions, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "If you intend to claim that I am the blackened, you will need evidence that proves I did it."

"Which I have," I said. "As Sugiura-san said, you were the one who suggested that Sugiura-san make the stew, essentially choosing her as the cook and making her your 'fall guy' for the plan, just like Sakuragi-kun did with me. Furthermore, Akasaka-san said that before lunch, she saw you meet with Mizuhara-kun. It's possible that he told you about Sugiura-san being the Ultimate Poisoner."

Akasaka-san nodded, silently confirming that I was telling the truth.

"It is possible," Mitamura-san said, "but there is no proof for it. If my goal was to frame Sugiura-san, I would need to know her talent in advance, would I not?"

"Not necessarily," Kagami-kun said. "Since the blackened's goal is twofold- killing someone and passing the blame off on someone else- it's best if they plan out both parts in advance, rather than just winging it and hoping we get the wrong person, but they can skip that step in a pinch. I agree with Edogawa-san that the specific fall guy doesn't matter, but it does help if you're able to make someone look suspicious and throw us onto the wrong track."

The idea that any of us- inadvertently or deliberately- could be leading us to a false verdict that would result in our deaths was a disturbing one, one that made me question the conclusion I'd arrived at. Still, even though Sugiura-san had been falsely accused, we'd learned a lot by discussing her possible guilt, so I believed that at the very least, the same would apply to Mitamura-san.

"That's true, Kagami-kun," I said, "but at this point, if anyone knew whose information Mizuhara-kun had in advance, it would most likely be Mitamura-san."

"That's a valid theory, Miura-san," Sensei said, "but for now, we should probably stick with what we know for certain. Mitamura-san began behaving suspiciously the moment Mizuhara-kun's body was discovered."

"By keeping everyone else out of the nurse's office and making you stay in the kitchen?" I said. "That definitely seems like the actions of someone who has something to hide."

"That, too," Sensei said. "What I'm mainly thinking about is her having you come to the nurse's office alone."

"Alone?" I said. "You mean as opposed to coming with you- oh, I get it!"

"What's wrong with that?" Tezuka-kun said. "She didn't want us moving around and messing up the crime scene, did she?"

"It's probably related to the body discovery announcement rules," I said. "If I had come to the nurse's office with Sensei, then the two of us, together with Mitamura-san, would have been the first three people to lay eyes on Mizuhara-kun's lifeless body. As we saw in the first case, the body discovery announcement did not play until Fukuda-kun found Sakuragi-kun's body, so the culprit is not counted. Therefore, the culprit would have been narrowed down to one of the three in the nurse's office."

"Perhaps, but consider this," Mitamura-san said, "I tried to save Mizuhara-san's life, which would make me seem less suspicious than you or Edogawa-san in that case. It would be an unenviable position, but I would quickly be ruled out."

Sensei shook her had sadly. Perhaps she was also rethinking her perception of Mitamura-san, and questioning how benevolent many of Mitamura-san's actions truly were, now that Mitamura-san was the most likely culprit. Perhaps only Mitamura-san really knew the answer to that, but for now, we couldn't think of many possibilities that painted her in a favorable light.

"Upon further examination, I've realized that taking Mizuhara-kun to the nurse's office was part of your plan," Sensei said, sadly. "I always wondered why the syringe with Mizuhara-kun's name on it was in the medicine cabinet but now I know why- you stole it from Mizuhara-kun and hid it there. With everyone else occupied, and you guarding the crime scene until the trial, you're the only one who could have hidden this."

"Why would I need to do so?" Mitamura-san said. "If I wanted to let him die, all I needed to do was watch him perish."

I nodded to concede the point. If we'd been trapped in here for two years, then the syringe would no longer be good- I couldn't help but wonder how people with diabetes, asthma or other conditions requiring medication would fare in here. Still, useful or not, the syringe was clearly a dangerous piece of evidence, and I knew why Mitamura-san went as far as she did to keep it hidden.

"By doing so, you could hide the cause of death," I said. "If you hid the fact that Mizuhara-kun died of a peanut allergy, then you could convince everyone that Sugiura-san poisoned him. Doing so would not only be necessary to pin the crime on her, but also to hide the fact that the cause of death is something only you could have known about. Sensei only showed me the syringe just before the trial, so only the two of us and the culprit knew that."

Mitamura-san let out a long sigh, and remained silent for a moment. She was running out of arguments for our evidence, but probably knew that the moment she gave up, her life would be forfeit. Perhaps that was why Sakuragi-kun had been so desperate to make some kind of rebuttal when the finger of suspicion fell on him, even if, by doing so, he only ended up digging his own grave.

"I will admit that I am suspicious at this point," Mitamura-san said. "But what about my motive? What reason would I have to kill someone and let twelve others die?"

"You're seriously asking this question?" Hoshino-kun said. "Getting out of here was enough reason for Sakuragi, so what makes you think you're any different?"

Hoshino-kun raised a valid point, since the prospect of graduating was quite tempting. Still, understanding the killer's motives would be important to uncovering the truth, so Mitamura-san's question deserved an answer.

"I actually think Mitamura-san had a motive," Sensei said, "specifically, her weakness. She may not have had the chance to view it, but I believe most people can guess what theirs is. Yuuki-san, what would you say you think your weakness is?"

"Fear of blood, obviously," Yuuki-san said. "I mean, you all saw me pass out when Akito-kun was executed, right?"

I nodded. Yuuki-san fainting was far from the most memorable thing to happen that night, but it was a detail I couldn't forget. Ever since the killing game began in earnest, I'd found myself remembering small details more easily, since anything could become relevant to a class trial.

"Indeed," Sensei said. "I have the bad habit of forgetting to eat when I'm engrossed in something, so I was hardly surprised that Miura-san received that tidbit of information- only that Monokuma would consider something like that a weakness."

"Hey, it's not my fault not all of you drop dead if you eat something wrong," Monokuma said. "Some unlucky saps like Mizuhara-kun have secrets that threaten their lives or reputations, while others have secrets that are just plain embarrassing. That's just how the world works."

"Once again, Edogawa-san, you are simply jumping to conclusions," Mitamura-san said. "If, however, my weakness was something asinine like yours, I would have no reason to kill to keep it hidden."

"Perhaps," Sensei said. "Still, since you are the suspect now, it is up to you to share what you think your weakness might be."

A bead of sweat went down Mitamura-san's forehead.

"Y-You are simply making assumptions," Mitamura-san said, "assumptions that I refuse to dignify with a response."

Something had struck me as a little odd about this motive. For some people, like Mizuhara-kun, their weakness was a threat to their life, while for others, like Sugiura-san, it was a secret they desperately wanted to keep hidden. If Mitamura-san was indeed guilty, she'd likely been spurred to act because of the motive, but why?

"Actually, Sensei, I think it's possible that Mitamura-san learned about her own weakness," I said. "She didn't just guess- she actually _knew_."

"And how exactly would I obtain that knowledge?" Mitamura-san said. "If my weakness motivated me to kill Mizuhara-san by taking advantage of his peanut allergy, I would also need to know his weakness. If Monokuma-san is to be believed, I saw Mizuhara-san's weakness, so whose notepad did I view to learn about mine?"

I thought back to what Sensei had said- that I might know something that could prove to be an important clue to solving this mystery. I don't think she could have known this for a fact, given that I hadn't told anyone about that one event I'd witnessed, but Mitamura-san's question had helped me remember something important. She had been able to view one more notepad besides her own and Mizuhara-kun's, at least if my theory was correct.

"That's a good question," I said. "I'm almost certain that it was Iwasawa-san's."

"But mine didn't work," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura tried to fix the notepad, but failed."

I paused to think for a moment, and looked around. While Mitamura-san's credibility had been damaged as a result of her attempt to frame Sugiura-san, and most of us considered her our prime suspect, I hadn't yet proven anything she'd said was a lie just yet. If I could do so now, then it would lay the groundwork for her conviction.

"What if that was a lie?" I said. "We concluded that the problem was with the battery, right?"

"We did," Iwasawa-san said, "but does that make any difference? A broken notepad's still broken, right?"

I nodded, having realized how Iwasawa-san had been deceived.

"Yes, but I just realized that it's possible to do a workaround," I said. "All Mitamura-san would have to do is unscrew the screws and swap your pad's battery with hers. Once she did that, she'd be able to view the information on yours, leaving you none the wiser. After all, she got a screwdriver, didn't she?"

A few people nodded, and no one tried to contradict me. Since Mitamura-san was the first person to show everyone else her murder weapon, that was deeply ingrained in their memories.

"B-But Miss Mitamura isn't that kind of person," Iwasawa-san said. "...Isn't she?"

Mitamura-san didn't say anything, which was frustrating. The idealistic side of me hoped that she'd say something to try to prove her innocence, while the more practical side of me hoped that if she was the culprit, she'd dig herself deeper and make her guilt more obvious to everyone. The fact that she did neither only upheld the status quo- some of us probably thought she did it, but wouldn't bet our lives on that.

"It looks like we're at an impasse, so I have a question for Monokuma," Inoue-kun said. "Under what circumstances do we move on to the vote?"

"That's easy!" Monokuma said. "Class trials last as long as there's time, and at least two students aren't completely sure who the blackened is."

I quickly checked my handbook and saw that Monokuma had added that as the tenth rule. While Monokuma was clearly making things up as he went along, it wasn't hard to see why this one was in place- even if a blackened argued their innocence until the end, if no one else believed them, we could proceed to convicting them. Of course, Sakuragi-kun's confession had meant that none of us doubted that he was guilty, and this wasn't the case this time.

"I see," Inoue-kun said. "I was kind of hoping you'd tell us how long we have left, but that's fine. I think Mitamura-san is our most likely suspect, but I'd rather not vote for her until we figure out how she learned that Mizuhara-kun was allergic to peanuts."

"Obviously the notepads," Fukuda-kun said, "but at this point, we only know about what Mizuhara and Sugiura's notepads say."

"Actually, Katsura-san and I showed our pads to Miura-san," Akasaka-san said, "but neither of them had Mizuhara-kun's weakness."

After a moment, I realized there was one piece of information we were missing, one that would exonerate Mitamura-san- or possibly condemn her. In order to solve the case, we'd need to answer Mitamura-san's question, by proving whose weakness she knew, and how she learned about hers, both of which were tied to one piece of evidence that Mitamura-san herself held. It was entirely Mitamura-san's prerogative to cooperative, but I hoped that if even part of her still cared about our well-being, she'd share this information with us.

"Mitamura-san, please show me your notepad," I said. "If you are innocent, it will clear you of suspicion, and if not, it will allow us to make the correct choice when it is time to vote."

Mitamura-san solemnly nodded, as if to acknowledge that she had nothing left to lose.

"Very well," Mitamura-san said with a sigh. "Since you have figured out this much, I might as well show you."

Mitamura-san reached into the pocket of her skirt and produced her notepad, turning it on. I was some distance away from her, but I could still hear it clearly. It showed a cartoonish illustration of Mizuhara-kun slumped over at his seat at a table, an open jar of peanut butter near him.

 _Minato Mizuhara has a severe allergy to nuts. Even a small taste of them can trigger a life-threatening allergic reaction, so keep that in mind if you'd like to bump him off.  
_

 _Now who has your weakness? Let's see..._

 _Momo Iwasawa!_

Iwasawa-san let out a loud and sharp gasp the moment she saw her picture on Mitamura-san's notepad, and I saw the color drain from her face.

"No...!" Iwasawa-san said. "By giving Miss Mitamura my notepad, I caused her to commit murder?!"

I reached over and placed a hand on Iwasawa-san's shoulder. I knew all too well what she was feeling, because I was feeling it myself. If I'd never mentioned Monokuma's rule about redistributing unread notepads, perhaps Iwasawa-san would have never shown hers to Mitamura-san. What was done was done, though, and now that a murder had happened, we could only convict the culprit.

"I'm sorry, Iwasawa-san," I said. "I know you never meant for this to happen, but Mitamura-san has showed us that she knew Mizuhara-kun's weakness, and that you had hers. By doing so, she has essentially confessed."

"Just to play Devil's Advocate, what if Mitamura-san's notepad is wrong about Iwasawa-san having her weakness?" Katsura-san said. "It's already been established that Mizuhara-kun's mistakenly said that Sugiura-san had his information, and my notepad mistakenly said Miura-san had mine."

"That's a reasonable theory, Katsura-san, but it's ultimately beside the point," Sensei said. "Mitamura-san had assumed that Mizuhara-kun's information was correct- or at least that we would think it was- and that Sugiura-san had received his weakness. As such, it is most likely that her notepad was correct when it said Iwasawa-san had her weakness."

"Edogawa-san raises a good point," Akasaka-san said. "Besides, Katsura-san, until Miura-san showed us her pad, we thought that she also had your weakness."

"That's true," Katsura-san said. "I'm more or less positive Mitamura-san is guilty, but I wanted to clear that up."

Iwasawa-san looked completely heartbroken, as Sensei's analysis and Akasaka-san's observation more or less disproved the only remaining theory that suggested that she hadn't inadvertently caused Mitamura-san's crime- in fact, it suggested that Mitamura-san might have been planning a murder from when she first learned of her weakness. Still, we'd essentially proven Mitamura-san's guilt, and the only thing left was to convince everyone else of it, including those who didn't want to believe it.

"I know this will be hard for you to hear, Iwasawa-san," I said, "but please listen to my summary of the events of this case and let me know if you disagree with anything I say."

Iwasawa-san sadly nodded.

 _As you all know, Mizuhara-kun died of a fatal allergic reaction, induced as part of a scheme to kill him. His allergy to peanuts had been a tightly guarded secret... until Monokuma gave out all our weaknesses in an attempt to cause a murder.  
_

 _First, let's look at how the culprit learned of this information. Contrary to what Mizuhara-kun's notepad said, Sugiura-san was not the one who learned of his weakness- the culprit did. For the moment, the information was harmless, since while the culprit had the means to murder him, they didn't have a reason... yet._

 _The culprit then learned that Iwasawa-san had their notepad, and tricked her into handing it over by promising to fix it. They accomplished it by using their screwdriver to install their own battery into Iwasawa-san's notepad, allowing them to see the contents. After taking a look and learning what was on it, the culprit replaced the original battery, then handed Iwasawa-san's notepad back, claiming that they could not repair it.  
_

 _When Monokuma threatened to make our weakness public knowledge, the culprit was forced to act. Mizuhara-kun, similarly desperate, met with the culprit, and likely shared what was on his notepad, thus giving the culprit the idea to frame Sugiura-san._ _The culprit then convinced Sugiura-san to make dinner tonight, intending to frame her for the murder. Shortly before Sugiura-san served dinner, the culprit stopped by the kitchen, crushed some peanuts and put the powder into the stew pot in hopes of poisoning him. It would be harmless to everyone else, including them, but deadly to Mizuhara-kun. The culprit planted an empty bottle of poison in the refrigerator as a bit of false evidence, while stashing a bag full of trail mix in the trash._

 _Dinner began, and Mizuhara-kun eagerly dug in, not noticing the peanuts until he started having an allergic reaction. To make sure his fate was sealed, our culprit volunteered to take him to the nurse's office, while ordering Sensei and I to investigate the kitchen, and the rest of us to stay put. Once there, the culprit hid Mizuhara-kun's syringe away, to ensure that no one learned about his allergy. The culprit then sat back and watched Mizuhara-kun die, betrayed by someone he'd trusted to save him._

 _Meanwhile, Sensei and I searched the kitchen and found the bottle of poison. On the culprit's orders, I returned to inform the culprit of what had poisoned Mizuhara-kun, only to learn that it was too late. The culprit then dispatched me to summon everyone else, so that they could trigger the body discovery announcement and begin the investigation. There's only one person who could have known how to kill Mizuhara-kun in the manner they did, had a motive for doing so, and had an opportunity to carry out their plan._

 _That person is you, Reiko Mitamura-san!  
_

The others remained silent. Iwasawa-san wasn't any happier about this turn of events, but wasn't able to argue back or even protest.

"So, Mitamura-san," I said. "Do you have any objections?"

Mitamura-san sighed and shook her head.

"None, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I killed Mizuhara-san, using the method you described. I may be a failure as a leader, a liar, a murderer and a cheater, but I at least have enough decency to not be a sore loser."

"A cheater?" I said.

Mitamura-san paled for a moment, realizing that she'd said something she'd never intended to.

"Please forget you heard anything of the sort," Mitamura-san said. "Monokuma-san, seeing as how everyone knows I am the culprit, it is time for the vote, is it not?"

"You bet!" Monokuma said. "Everyone ready? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

The time to vote came up once again. After selecting Sugiura-san, I briefly hesitated before casting my vote, knowing that once she was convicted, a terrible fate would await her. But while I thought of her, I also thought of Mizuhara-kun, whom she'd killed for selfish reasons; Sugiura-san, whom she'd tried to frame; Iwasawa-san, whose faith in Mitamura-san had been shattered; and the other nine spotless, whose fates were on the line. With a heavy heart, I then cast my vote for Mitamura-san.

Once again, the result came up, as a unanimous vote for Mitamura-san, and another "GUILTY" result.

* * *

Another eerie silence followed our second successful class trial, which was no more worthy of celebration than the first. Not only was yet another of us minutes away from death, but we'd had to confront the harsh truth- that even our leader, who'd sworn to lead us to freedom and safety, could kill given the right reason.

"Congratulations!" Monokuma said. "You bastards did it again! The killer this time, the blackened who killed Minato Mizuhara-kun is... Reiko Mitamura-san!"

Mitamura-san nodded solemnly. People who worked as hard as she did, tended to keep their eyes on the future- studying diligently to get into a good high school so they could get into a good college and get a good job- so she'd almost certainly never expected to die so young, in such a painful and humiliating manner. Nevertheless, she was determined to remain dignified, even if it was literally the last thing she did.

"Man, I've really got to hand it to you," Monokuma said. "I didn't think you'd actually find the killer this time, but the result was unanimous. Even Iwasawa-san voted correctly!"

Iwasawa-san, tears streaming down her face, could only shake her head.

"I... still can't accept this," Iwasawa-san said, "but if Miss Mitamura has confessed, then I'll believe her. So please, Miss Mitamura, tell us- Why would you do such a thing?"

"Essentially, it is as Miura-san figured out," Mitamura-san said. "Upon checking my pad, I noticed that you had my weakness. I trusted you to not act on the information, which I hoped was as banal as Miura-san's."

While my being outed as a former bed-wetter was certainly embarrassing, I had to admit that I was grateful that people didn't think less of me. Yuuki-san had freely volunteered this information because she didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of, a sentiment that everyone else seemed to share. Of course, reputation was very important, and a merely "embarrassing" tidbit could potentially cost someone their job in the real world, so perhaps Mitamura-san's concern was understandable.

"Still, I could not help but be curious about what information could be used against me," Mitamura-san said. "In a stroke of luck, you asked me for help with your tablet, and I obliged, offering to try to fix it. That, of course, was a ruse so that I could look at it myself- I could not resist the temptation to find out whatever secret she held. Once I had, I took the battery out and returned it to Iwasawa-san, claiming I was unable to fix it."

"All so no one could view what's on it?" Iwasawa-san said.

"Correct," Mitamura-san said. "That should have been the end of it all, until Monokuma-san threatened to broadcast our motives, and that useless lump of machinery became a threat to me."

"And then, you had a convenient murder victim to target," Sugiura-san said, "along with a scapegoat."

"That is true," Mitamura-san said. "Mizuhara-san came to me and showed me his notepad, hoping to warn me about a potential threat to the group. After hearing about Sugiura-san being the Ultimate Poisoner, I planned on having her cook dinner so that I could frame her, using the empty Monokuma poison bottle as a red herring."

"So that's why Mizuhara was shocked to hear that I had made dinner," Sugiura-san said.

"If he had asked, I had planned to say that I'd asked you to cook dinner in order to keep an eye on you," Mitamura-san said, "but in the end, I think he realized what I had done."

* * *

 _Mitamura's POV  
_

When I reached the nurse's office with Mizuhara-san, I had him give me his backpack and lay down on the bed. In truth, I did not know how to save him, even if I wanted to, but I had to keep up appearances.

"G-Get... m-m...my syr...inge..." Mizuhara-san said. "I...In my b-b-back...p-pack. F-Front p-pock...et..."

"I understand," I said. "Please do not try to speak."

Following his instructions, I retrieved the syringe from his pack, seeing his name on it. Evidently, he'd come prepared for something like this to happen.

"Is this it?" I said.

Mizuhara-san nodded, possibly past the point at which he could speak.

"Good," I said.

I then opened the medicine cabinet and put the syringe in the back. As the saying went, to hide a tree, one must place it in a forest, and no one would think to look for it here... or so I thought, until Edogawa-san found it.

Mizuhara-san's eyes widened in horror, as he was conscious enough to realize that I had betrayed him. While I knew how to use a syringe, it may have been too late to save him.

"I am sorry," I said. It was a insincere apology for an unforgivable crime, so it rang hollow, even to me.

"T...T...Trusted... y-you..." Mizuhara-san said, barely loudly enough to be heard.

A few hoarse, sharp breaths later, Mizuhara-san's eyes closed, and the life left his body.

I knew- or at least believed- that this had to happen. But at the same time, there was a harsh and clear truth- I was now a murderer, and if I did not succeed, Mizuhara-san would have died for nothing. If my secret was revealed, everything I had worked for would be voided. There was no other way... at least, that was what I thought.

So once again, I did what I always did- I took the coward's way out and refused to accept responsibility for my actions, covering up my mistakes with misdeeds and my misdeeds with lies. But even so, some part of my conscience knew that what I had done was unacceptable, and I broke down and wept for the person I had become.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

"At that point, Miura-san arrived," Mitamura-san said, "still under the impression that Mizuhara-san had been poisoned... for the moment."

My mind went back to my last conversation with Mizuhara-kun, and I had to wonder why he had chosen to show Mitamura-san his notepad- was it because he trusted her, because he didn't trust Sugiura-san, or some combination of the two? I didn't know him well enough to say, though.

"You know," I said, "Mizuhara-kun was acting oddly before his death, specifically when it came to Sugiura-san's talent. He must have had quite a dilemma- keep the information secret, and possibly enable Sugiura-san to kill someone, or tell everyone, which might lead to someone killing Sugiura-san. There weren't any good choices."

"I'd hoped that Sugiura-san's talent would make her the immediate suspect," Mitamura-san said, "but it seems I was figured out. The rest is as Miura-san said."

Iwasawa-san shook her head. She could believe that Mitamura-san had done it, given that Mitamura-san had confessed and Monokuma had confirmed that we'd convicted the right person, but she couldn't quite get her head around someone she admired planning and committing cold-blooded murder.

"I know, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa-san said, "but you still haven't answered my question. What weakness of yours could be so bad that you'd kill to keep it secret?"

"I am sorry, Iwasawa-san, but I refuse to answer," Mitamura-san said. "I am not long for this world, and know none of you will forgive me, but this is one secret I must take to my grave."

"That's where I come in!" Monokuma said. "As headmaster, I have detailed information on all my students, in this Master Notepad. Here, have a look!"

Monokuma got out the pad, which was plugged into his seat, and started it up. The screen nearby showed a 4x4 grid of all the students, even the dead ones, and Monokuma selected Mitamura-san's portrait.

 _"Mitamura-san is a perfectionist by nature and can't abide the thought of having made a mistake. Bring up the time she cheated on a math exam back at her old school, and she might just take your life... or her own."_

The tablet then showed a piece of evidence- text showing the school Mitamura-san attended, the day and time she took the test, the teacher who was the proctor for the exam, and even her method of cheating.

 _Now, whose tablet has this weakness? Let's see..._

 _Momo Iwasawa!_

Both Iwasawa-san and Mitamura-san were utterly horrified. The former knew beyond all shadow of a doubt that she'd inadvertently helped cause a murder, while the dark secret that the latter had killed to keep under wraps had come to light.

"So... that's what you meant?" I said.

"I-It is," Mitamura-san said. "It's what I hoped you would never learn about me, something I would sooner die than see come to light. Monokuma-san chose my weakness well."

"Why'd you even need to cheat in the first place, Reiko-chan?" Yuuki-san said. "You seem really smart, so getting good grades shouldn't be a problem for you."

Mitamura-san shook her head.

"It was around the time I got scouted," Mitamura-san said, "and between the meetings with talent scouts and my other duties, I had fallen behind in my studies. I was so nervous about how my parents or Talent High School would react if I did poorly on a test, so I cheated. At the time, I had assumed that I had not gotten caught, and felt secure... until the information came up again."

"All this over just cheating?" Yuuki-san said.

"Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously," Mitamura-san said. "In my case, if people learned I had cheated once, they would likely wonder whether I had done so in the past, thus ruining my reputation. My family severely punishes failure and even more severely punishes intentional misconduct- not only had I cheated, but I didn't even have the courage to admit it. I had much to lose if word of this got out- the respect of my peers and teachers, my enrollment in Talent High School, and even my place in my family. My status as a role model is something I have worked to build for my entire life, and if I lost that, I would be left with nothing."

All this time, while Mitamura-san had came off as a seemingly perfect, or at least almost perfect, young lady, there had always been something a bit off about her, a discrepancy between the person she was and the person she was trying to be. We all put on facades for the sake of being socially acceptable, and none of us could play that part perfectly well. Mitamura-san, however, couldn't accept falling short of that idea, which must have driven her to cheat and to kill.

Mitamura-san choked back a sob, and tears began streaming down her face.

"But none of that matters now," Mitamura-san said. "This is who I am... someone who cheats rather than accept a bad grade, someone who kills to keep her skeletons in the closet, and someone who aspires to be perfect, but is not even good. I have been lying to almost everyone for as long as I can remember- those who admire me and those in authority- trying to be someone I am not. Now... it is time for the masquerade to end."

Mitamura-san then deeply bowed in apology.

"Iwasawa-san, I am sorry that I deceived you. Sugiura-san, I am so sorry for framing you."

Sugiura-san bitterly frowned, while Iwasawa-san wept, heartbroken at learning the truth about someone she'd respected.

"I... accept your apology, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa said. "But why? I really thought I knew you."

"The person you knew was who I wanted to be, and perhaps who I wanted to believe I was," Mitamura-san said. "I had hoped to be thought of as someone you could look up to and rely on, more for my sake than yours. I was always expected to be that sort of person, and eventually, I enjoyed it as well. That is why I never could accept being anything less than perfect, even if it was only a lie."

"Hmmph," Sugiura-san said. "I never really accepted you as our leader, you know. I can't say I'm disappointed."

"I understand, Sugiura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I have done something unforgivable to you."

"I will say this, though," Sugiura-san said. "I may not have poisoned Mizuhara, but I do bear some responsibility for what happened. I trusted you enough to lower my guard, and because I did, you were able to kill him. You might be the only one who's getting executed for that, but I deserve some of the blame."

Sugiura-san's face was placid. She didn't have much sympathy for Mitamura-san, but took no pleasure in this turn events. Neither did Hoshino-kun, the only other person still alive who hadn't voted for Mitamura-san to be our leaeder.

"Hoshino-san, you have been quiet since the verdict," Mitamura-san said. "I thought you would have something to say."

"I do now," Hoshino-kun said. "We've had our differences, Mitamura, but believe me when I say that I never wanted things to come to this. I had my suspicions that you weren't really a good person at heart, but I didn't want to be right about that."

"I hope you're all done with your goodbyes to your dear leader, " Monokuma said, "because it's _that time_ again."

"Yes," Mitamura-san said as she dried her eyes. "The time when I pay for all my crimes, past and present."

As I looked around, I saw a variety of reactions, from horror to grim acceptance, among the eleven other spotless. Some of us disagreed with Mitamura-san on various things, others had never wanted her to lead us, and all of us had voted for her, but none of us wanted her to die.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Proofreader."

"Everyone, please do not mourn me," Mitamura-san said. "This...is what I deserve."

"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

 **Game Over**

 **Mitamura-san has been found guilty.**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

 _The Ultimate Proofreader, Reiko Mitamura's Execution: Executed_

 _Even Monokuma Makes Mistakes In Writing_

Mitamura-san was pinned to a large white wall, with metal restraints on her wrists and ankles keeping her in a crucified position. Metal spikes were driven through the palms of her hands and both her feet, so she was undoubtedly in terrible pain as she was suspended.

Monokuma used a large paintbrush to carve out the kanji for her name, which was written in red. Each stroke barely missed her, but Mitamura-san, her face pale and sweaty, knew Monokuma was only delaying the inevitable.

Finally, as a last stroke, Monokuma picked up the utensil, aimed carefully, and threw it. It soared through the air and reached its target- Mitamura-san's heart. Blood poured from the wound and Mitamura-san's mouth, soaking her otherwise immaculate uniform and dripping down the kanji for her name.

Before long, the blood flow stopped, and Mitamura-san's body went still. She'd almost certainly bled to death by this point, but Monokuma wasn't done with her just yet.

As a final insult, Monokuma took out a large stamp, and rammed it into Mitamura-san's body. Her corpse was reduced to a fine red puddle, at which point Monokuma slammed ithe stamp into the wall again, creating a red circle with a blank space for the kanji for "Perfect" as one final mockery of Mitamura-san.

* * *

The courtroom was silent once again in the wake of Mitamura-san's demise. Not only had we lost the fourth member of our group of sixteen, but we'd also lost our leader.

Yuuki-san was doubled over near her seat, having vomited up her dinner all over her uniform. Iwasawa-san was down on her knees, likely praying for Mitamura-san's soul. Hoshino-kun stared off into the distance, not at all happy about the death of the girl he'd disliked the most.

"Wow, talk about a twist!" Monokuma said. "I had no idea Miss Goody Two Shoes was so wrapped up in something that doesn't matter anymore, that she'd kill in order to keep it secret!"

"Oh, really?" I said. "So why did you put our weaknesses in the notepads if you didn't hope that we'd kill each other over it?"

"To see which of you were still attached to the outside world," Monokuma said. "Mitamura-san didn't just want to go back, but she wanted to keep her squeaky clean rep, and she was willing to kill all of you to do that. Who's to say that the rest of you bastards are any better than she is?"

No one answered Monokuma's question.

"I thought not," Monokuma said. "When it comes down to it, the Ultimates are just like anyone else- they'll do anything to survive and escape from here. It's too bad, really."

"What do you mean?" Iwasawa-san said.

"Don't you get it, Iwasawa-san?" Monokuma said. "Mitamura-san isn't the only one of you lot people look up to. If word got out that you Ultimates killed each other, then they'd be as disappointed in you as you were in Mitamura-san."

"If word got out?" I said. "Are you saying that you have a method of informing everyone else about what's going on in here?"

"Whoops, I nearly spilled the beans, there!" Monokuma said. "You've got enough to digest for now, so I'll let you all go for the night. Court is now adjourned!"

Monokuma then vanished. leaving the twelve of us in the courtroom. While Monokuma presumably hoped we'd leave in a timely manner, none of us felt like going anywhere for the moment.

"Are you all right, Momo-chan?" Yuuki-san said.

"Truthfully, no, Miss Yuuki," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Miss Mitamura would do such a thing. Am I really supposed to accept the answer she gave us?"

"It's the only one you'll get," Sugiura-san said. "Once Mitamura had her dirty secret exposed and she was sentenced to death, she didn't have any more reason to lie to us."

As Sugiura-san glanced around at the rest of us, I remembered that Mitamura-san hadn't been the only one whose secret had been exposed in the last trial. The two were similar in that they had spent many years cultivating a facade of respectability in order to fit in, which may have been why Sugiura-san had never fully trusted Mitamura-san. If Mitamura-san had been so desperate to preserve her facade (which, granted, had been endangered by her own actions), that she'd commit murder, what would Sugiura-san do now that everyone knew about her?

No one seemed to know the answer. In fact, no one was really sure what to do next. Ordinarily, Mitamura-san would tell us to return to our rooms to get some rest so that we'd be ready to explore the next floor tomorrow, so we couldn't help but wait for her orders even if she'd no longer be able to do give them. We hadn't necessarily blindly trusted her, but we had counted on there being someone to tell us what to do.

"So what now?" Hoshino-kun said. "Does this mean I can finally sleep in now that Mitamura isn't making us meet for breakfast anymore?"

I shook my head.

"I'd like to continue the breakfast meetings, at least for the moment" I said. "It's a convenient time to discuss things as a group, make plans and share ideas."

"Do what you want," Hoshino-kun said. "Just remember that in the end, Mitamura was purely out for herself, so how are you any better than her?"

I was a bit stunned to hear that,partly because he was parroting Monokuma's words, and partly because I had no good response. All I could offer at this point were promises, which were empty without anything backing them.

"It's true that trusting anyone implicitly can be unwise," Sensei said, "but I do believe that Miura-san is trustworthy. Rather than seek perfection, Miura-san tries to be a good person, which is the most we can hope for."

I bowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Sensei," while Hoshino-kun shrugged.

"If you say so," Hoshino-kun said. "Maybe Miura has good intentions, but that doesn't go very far in a killing game. Even if she doesn't kill someone, I'm sure someone else will, sooner or later."

Hoshino-kun walked off, toward the elevator, shooting Sugiura-san a glare over his shoulder. Once again, he had a point- I didn't know how to stop people from killing each others, even without Monokuma's motives expediting the process. Still, someone had to think about everyone else's well-being and keep the others on track to finding a way out of here, and if I could contribute to that end, then that was what I would do.

We rode up in the elevator once again, which was noticeably more spacious now that a fourth of us were the others left. After the others went their separate ways, since it was already Night Time, Sensei came up to me.

"You seem troubled, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Is something on your mind?"

"I was thinking about Mizuhara-kun," I said. "No one really knew him very well, so I'm worried people will just forget him once the trial is over."

"I'm not so sure," Sensei said. "He may have been the second of us to be murdered, and the third of us to die, but we haven't seen enough death to become jaded just yet."

"You're probably right," I said. "Still, while the rest of us will probably remember his death, they may not remember his life- at least not as anything other than the Ultimate Fisherman. He and I weren't really friends, but I feel like I owe it to him to keep his memory alive."

"That's good," Sensei said. "Perhaps the Ultimates are idealized, as all minor celebrities are, but they're also people, first and foremost."

I wondered if Kagami-kun had also shared his theory about how fallible the Ultimates could be with Sensei, but realized that wasn't necessarily the case. The lesson had been driven home for everyone else after we'd learned of Mitamura-san's wrongdoing, so perhaps Kagami-kun was merely a bit quicker to realize it than everyone else was.

At the time, I'd agreed with him, but in reality, I'd missed the point. Two weeks- or rather, two years- ago, all I knew about Sensei was that she wrote some of my favorite books. I had no idea that she was a bit of a loner, a bisexual, fond of porn magazines, or a kind and surprisingly humble girl with a good sense of humor, among many other things."

"I know," I said. "When we first got here, I looked up to you as my favorite author, seeing you as an Ultimate first and foremost. After talking with you these past few days, I still think you're an amazing writer, but know that there isn't all there is to you. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner."

Sensei shrugged, and for a moment, I wasn't sure she believed me. After a moment, though, I recognized it for what it was- expressing that she didn't think there was anything to forgive.

"Maybe," Sensei said, "but if so, it's never too late to own up to your mistakes. That's the lesson Mitamura-san should have learned."

I nodded. Perhaps in another lifetime, Mitamura-san might have been caught cheating, or turned herself in. She would have been punished, and received a permanent blemish on her otherwise perfect record, but someone as hard-working as her could have atoned for this transgression, and eventually earned redemption. It was too late for that now, but it wasn't too late for me.

"I agree" I said, "I'm looking forward to getting to know you better, Sensei- or rather, _Edogawa-san_."

Edogawa-san smiled. A part of me was tempted to ask her for permission to call her by her first name, but I thought better of it. My family was quite formal, for the most part, since Mom called Dad "Miura-san," until they were engaged, and only switched to "Kouichi-san" after she changed her name and became a Miura.

"So am I, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said.

We parted ways for the night, but a part of me felt uneasy. This was not the first murder case and would not be the last, so I had to ask myself. How many of the people I knew and liked would I find dead, without any opportunity to say goodbye to them? How many friends would I have to sentence to death? The prospect of one of the others, including Edogawa-san dying or turning out to be a murderer was a disturbing one, _because_ I cared about those individuals so much. Still, no matter how painful or difficult it could be, I swore to remember those who had been lost, and do what I could to ensure that those who were left could escape.

* * *

 _End of Chapter II_

 _Students Remaining: 12_

 _ **Red Armband** : A memento of Mitamura. She wore it with pride as a member of her school's morals committee._

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews, and congratulations to Jess for guessing Mitamura's identity as the culprit.

Mitamura was a fairly challenging character to write, as I wanted to gradually reveal her more selfish and less noble motives for taking on her responsibilities without being too obvious about it, and gradually nudge her toward doing something terrible while showing she still has enough of a conscience to regret it. Her upbringing and being pressured to be perfect do not excuse her actions, but they do explain why she feels the need to pretend to be a better person than she actually is.

I also tried not to make her too obvious of a culprit, since while her downfall was largely inevitable, I tried to ensure that the evidence didn't too easily link her to the murder.

The post-trial part was fairly long- I've noticed that the second trials tend to have a fair amount of exposition after the trial, some of which sheds more light on what happened.

Chapter III may take a little longer to come out, since while I've written much of it out, I'll also need to divide it into parts and flesh out some scenes. In the mean time, though, you'll probably get another Free Time Event or two, in addition to the five that are already up- Kurogane, Mitamura, Hoshino, Iwasawa and Mizuhara.

I edited to make some things clearer, and, for the sake of consistency, have Monokuma refer to Mitamura by her title when announcing her punishment. As a little bonus, here's what would be an example of Psyche Taxi, which, if this were an actual playable trial, would be after the Argument Armament battle against Iwasawa (who, like Ishimaru in the original game, refuses to accept the culprit's guilt).

* * *

 **Omake**

 _Psyche Taxi_

Within my own imagination, I found myself behind the wheel of a pink taxi on a lonely two-lane desert highway. Driving the car was easier than I'd imagined, even considering that I was seated on the left, rather than the right, since I didn't have to worry about driving on the right side of the road or any other traffic laws. All I had to do was avoid the other cars and grab the various cubes by running them over.

As I ran over the cubes, pairs of letters became fragments of words, and a whole sentence eventually formed- a question I'd need to answer. At this point, the highway split into three lanes

 _Who had Sugiura's weakness?_

There were three answers- Mitamura, Mizuhara and Iwasawa- each represented by pink silhouettes of women on the road, from left to right. This one was fairly obvious, so I selected "Mizuhara" the only way I knew how- driving down the center lane running over the woman who represented the answer. The woman sailed through the air and landed in the passenger seat of my car.

After what was probably several dozen kilometers of driving and gathering word cubes, I had the next question:

 _Who had Mizuhara's weakness?_

Three more answers were shown- Sugiura, Iwasawa and Mitamura- and the choice was a bit trickier this time. Sugiura-san had shown us that she had Iwasawa-san's weakness, so she obviously wasn't the right answer, but what about the other two? Could Monokuma be believed when he said Mitamura-san had her weakness? It seemed most likely, so I went with that answer, which turned out to be correct. When I struck the second woman, she flew through the air, into the back seat of my cab.

After another long drive, which probably raised the first woman's fares to astronomical heights, one last question remained.

 _Who had Mitamura's weakness?_

Three answers remained- Iwasawa, Sugiura and Miura. I obviously didn't have it, and Sugiura-san didn't have it, either, so Iwasawa-san was the only logical choice. It all made sense- Mitamura-san had the means to murder Mizuhara-kun all along, but didn't have a reason until she learned that Iwasawa-san had her motive. At full speed, I rammed into the last woman, who landed next to the second woman.

Finally, I reached my final destination as I reached my conclusion, and found myself back in the courtroom.

"I think I understand how everything worked out," I said. "Mizuhara-kun ended up with information proving that Sugiura-san was the Ultimate Poisoner, and a message erroneously saying that Sugiura-san was the one who had his weakness. Mitamura-san, who knew how to take advantage of Mizuhara-kun's allergies, used that knowledge to kill him and frame Sugiura-san. Why did she do this? It was because when Iwasawa-san asked Mitamura-san to repair her notepad, Mitamura-san learned her own notepad."

"Quite an impressive deduction, Miura-san," Sensei said. "How did you figure that out?"

"By driving a taxi down the freeway and ramming into people to find the answers," I said.

Everyone looked at me speechlessly, having no idea what to say to my blunt yet accurate description of my thought process.


	11. Chapter III, Part 1

**Chapter III: Truth or Despair**

 _Daily Life_

When I got back to my room, I didn't feel like doing much besides changing clothes and getting in bed. Since I was tired after the trial, and had eaten enough dinner to ensure that hunger pangs wouldn't keep me awake, sleep came relatively easily.

Oddly enough, I felt less conflicted about convicting Mitamura-san than I had been about convicting Sakuragi-kun. Maybe it was because Mitamura-san's betrayal stung us more deeply than Sakuragi-kun's. Maybe it was because Mitamura-san had accepted her fate in the end. Or maybe I was simply growing used to this horrific killing game. Perhaps, no matter the reasons, there was only one acceptable outcome- finding the blackened so that the spotless could live.

At the same time, though, I wasn't at all happy about this development. The second murder had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the first had not been an isolated occurrence, and had demonstrated that Monokuma could easily influence us to kill even if we were reluctant. If someone as seemingly upstanding as Mitamura-san could be persuaded to kill, who could be trusted? What secrets did our surviving classmates hold? And which one of us was the mastermind responsible for this?

Of course, there was a more pressing problem. Now that Mitamura-san was dead, we no longer had a leader, but since Mitamura-san had committed murder, people would probably be somewhat suspicious of anyone trying to fill that vacuum. For now, we would be resuming the breakfast meetings, if only because people were naturally hungry in the mornings, but there was no telling what would happen after that.

Such was life in the killing game, in which any of us could die at any time, and _all_ of us would die if we didn't find that person's killer, so putting things off until later was foolishly naïve at best. That said, I couldn't think of anything when I was tired and preoccupied with Mizuhara-kun and Mitamura-san's deaths, so I decided to sleep for now, and think about it more once I was rested.

* * *

 _Day 9_

The next morning, I woke up before my alarm clock went off, and went about my morning routine. When I finished, I checked myself over and adjusted my necktie's knot to make sure it was just right, even though I knew the person who laid down that rule was no longer here. Putting on my uniform had become a habit over the course of my year at my previous high school, and it wasn't as though I had much else to wear here, anyway.

On my way out, I picked up Monokuma's newest gift of Monocoins. I still didn't care for the sentiment behind the gift, or the fact that Monokuma's twisted game wasn't over yet, but at the very least, twelve of us had lived long enough to wake up this morning.

Heading into the hallway around 6:30 AM, I encountered Iwasawa-san, who was apparently stretching her legs.

"Good morning, Iwasawa-san," I said.

"Good morning, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "You're up early."

"I know," I said. "I could say the same thing about you."

Iwasawa-san giggled.

"This is normal for me," Iwasawa-san said, "since I do work on a farm, after all. Miss Mitamura told me that was an admirable trait, saying that if people our age got to bed and got up earlier, they'd be more likely to get to school on time."

In light of what we'd all learned at the end of the last trial, I couldn't help but wonder whether Mitamura-san truly believed this, or simply followed and preached this advice in order to fit in. Ultimately, though, it didn't matter- good advice was good advice, regardless of the motives for giving it. If Mitamura-san's life hadn't been cut short, she probably would have helped many people like Iwasawa-san, who would have been grateful to her regardless of why she helped them.

"If I may ask, how are you holding up?" I said. "I know you and Mitamura-san were..."

"Friends?" Iwasawa-san said as I trailed off. "To be honest, I don't know about that. Miss Mitamura always kept a certain distance between us, and didn't fully trust me. She must have thought that if I'd learned the truth, I would abandon her, like everyone else who looked up to her would."

"Well, have you?" I said.

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"No," Iwasawa-san said. "I know what she did was wrong, and she may not truly have been the person I thought she was. Still, I saw her as a role model- an accomplished student, a well-mannered young lady and the most respectable sort of young woman in the city- and still aspire to be the person she wanted to be seen as."

I sighed. I could tell that Iwasawa-san felt out of place in modern society, not to mention far behind the curve in many ways, so it was understandable that she'd want to emulate someone who'd seemingly had everything figured out.

"To be blunt, that may be the problem," I said. "Mitamura-san was desperately trying to be perfect- to be someone she _wasn't_ \- which was why she couldn't accept failing or showing vulnerability. I understand that you want to fit in, but you shouldn't go that far."

"Fair enough, Miss Miura," Iwawsawa-san said, "but at the same time, I think people can change. Miss Mitamura wasn't perfect, and she probably never could be, but she wanted to get as close to there as she could. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to better yourself."

"No, there isn't," I said. "Still, I don't think that changing necessarily means that you have to give up what makes you the person you are. You'll probably always be better at working in the fields than working on a computer, more comfortable wearing overalls than wearing a suit, and happier in a farming village than a big city- and that's perfectly fine. It's good that you want to broaden your horizons, but you shouldn't feel as though you have to be someone else."

"Thank you, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said with a smile. "Of course, it isn't just about fitting in. Even if Miss Mitamura's motives were selfish, she still helped me and tried to serve as a leader for everyone else. I want to be the sort of person who others can rely on."

I paused to think for a moment. I was tempted to point out that Iwasawa-san already did our cooking, but she clearly wasn't satisfied with only doing that much. She probably did quite a few chores back at home, so I'd have to find some other way for her to help.

"Why not start by taking out the trash?" I said. "That used to be Mitamura-san's job, after all. The incinerator should be fairly easy to operate."

"Oh, that's a nice idea," Iwasawa-san said, "but where would we get the key?"

I put my hand to my forehead, as I realized that we'd forgotten all about it. Mitamura-san probably had the key in the pocket of her uniform's skirt, which she'd been wearing at the time of her execution. Luckily, though, an all too familiar voice interrupted my train of thought.

"Right here!" Monokuma said, appearing before us. "After Mitamura-san's untimely passing, I took the liberty of repossessing her key. If you'd like the job, Iwasawa-san, the key is yours."

"Thank you, sir!" Iwasawa-san said, taking the key from Monokuma.

"Good," Monokuma said. "I'd hate to see this place become a pigsty just because there's no one around to take out the trash. By keeping the school clean, you can all focus on the killing game!"

I rolled my eyes. Monokuma apparently had a one-track mind when it come to the killing game, which would be almost laughable if he wasn't reveling in our death and suffering.

"By the way, ladies, I've got a request," Monokuma said. "Once everyone's together, let them know that the third floor's now open. I'll see you two later!"

Monokuma disappeared once again.

"Well, I've got to be going," Iwasawa-san said. "I have to get started on breakfast, and after we explore the next floor, I'll take out the trash."

With a nod and a "Thank you," I let Iwasawa-san get to work. While we mourned the departed in our own ways, all of us recognized that we still had work to do, so having an outlet for our energy helped us avoid wallowing in grief and despair.

* * *

I entered the dining hall and found Akasaka-san sitting by herself at one of the small tables. With Iwasawa-san busy in the kitchen and no one else around, she immediately noticed and greeted me.

"Good morning, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said.

"Good morning, Akasaka-san," I said, as I sat down across from her. "You're here early."

Akasaka-san nodded, and yawned sleepily.

"I couldn't get much sleep last night," Akasaka-san said, "since I was thinking about the previous trial all night, wondering how the murder could have been prevented. Perhaps Mitamura-san should have learned how to fail."

I paused, taken aback somewhat. I had to admit that at the moment, I had a few ideas- if I hadn't mentioned Monokuma's rule about giving unread notepads to someone else, if Iwasawa-san hadn't asked Mitamura-san to fix her notepad, or if Mizuhara-kun hadn't shown Mitamura-san his information- but they mostly dealt with the events leading up to the murder, and were mainly only obvious in hindsight.

"What do you mean by that?" I said.

"She was obsessed with perfection, and had been desperate to cover up her mistakes so her perfect image would remain unsullied," Akasaka-san said. "Instead, she should have seen each mistake and defeat as an opportunity to learn a lesson and improve. Perhaps if she'd learned that failing a test wasn't the end of the world, she would never have thought to cheat."

"Ah, I see what you mean. You're speaking from experience, aren't you?"

Akasaka-san nodded.

"As a checkers player, I am not- and have never been- undefeated," Akasaka-san said. "As a student, I usually get decent grades, but have failed tests- whether because I struggled with the material, didn't study enough, or cracked under pressure. Each time, I learned a little about what I had trouble with, then worked a bit harder."

"I'm a bit surprised," I said. "I wouldn't expect an Ultimate to be so candid about her struggles."

"We're only human, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "I can't speak for academics, but you're probably smarter than I am, considering how well you perform at the class trial."

"I happened to be at the right place at the right time on a few occasions," I said. "I'd say that's at least partly a matter of luck."

"Perhaps," Akasaka-san said, "but you have a knack for putting all the pieces together, perhaps one that surpasses Edogawa-san's skill. After all, you found out how Mitamura-san learned of her own weakness."

I was left at a loss for words. I'd always thought of Edogawa-san as the best of us at solving murder mysteries, especially since she had been the one who'd obtained the Epi-pen that had proved that Mizuhara-kun had been allergic to peanuts.

"I suppose you have a point," I said. "That said, I'm still not happy about this outcome, so I can't be proud of the role I played in it."

"That's understandable," Akasaka-san said, "but in the end, all of us chose to vote for Mitamura-san, knowing what it meant- she would die so the rest of us would live- so we share the responsibility for her death. As much as it pained me to vote to sentence the blackened to death, I did so both times."

"True," I said. "Still, if Monokuma only requires a majority vote, then wouldn't it be possible for some of us to vote for someone else, and thus avoid playing any role in the conviction?"

"Maybe," Akasaka-san said, "but that would be nothing more than a cowardly abdication of responsibility that would endanger the rest of us. I don't believe Sakuragi-kun or Mitamura-san deserved to die, but neither do the rest of us. If there's a third murder, I will stand with you once again and do what I must."

As I remembered how Akasaka-san had wept inconsolably after the first execution, I realized that I wasn't the only one who'd changed. As kind-hearted as she was, Akasaka-san also had to accept what the killing game asked of us, and what we had to do to stay alive. Just like the res of us, she knew she was alive because we'd sacrificed Sakuragi-kun and Mitamura-san, but while she wasn't happy about it, she knew she'd do so again if necessary.

"Thank you, Akasaka-san," I said. "I'll be counting on you."

As we spoke, people began heading into the dining hall, and taking their seats, filling up my table and the large table, and leaving the other small table empty. Iwasawa-san then stepped out of the kitchen and greeted us.

"Good, everyone's here," Iwasawa-san said. "I'll serve breakfast in a few minutes."

"Go right ahead," Hoshino-kun said, "but be sure to taste it first. We wouldn't want anyone to get poisoned, now, would we?"

Apparently thinking his barb wasn't obvious enough, Hoshino-kun shot a glance across the table, in Sugiura-san's direction.

"Very funny, Hoshino," Sugiura-san said. "Your knack for subtlety is on par with your sense of tact."

"Forgive me for being a little on edge after learning that one of my classmates is a murderer," Hoshino-kun said, "since in a situation in which _anyone_ can kill, you can't afford to let your guard down around the one who already _did_."

"You could have fooled me," Sugiura-san said. "You're clearly not afraid to antagonize this so-called murderer."

"So-called?" Hoshino-kun said mockingly. "I'm just calling it like I see it."

I slammed my fist on the table and stood up. As rude as it was to make a scene or interrupt people, I needed to steer this argument into a more constructive direction. The last thing we needed was a feud escalating to the point at which the two people involved tried to murder each other.

"Enough!" I said. "Sugiura-san, Hoshino-kun is not wrong to be concerned for his life. Hoshino-kun, Sugiura-san was not the one who killed Mizuhara-kun. Both of you- you'll need to at least get along."

"Who died and made you our leader, Miura?" Hoshino-kun said. "Besides Mitamura, that is? "

"I'm not trying to take her place," I said. "I'm just saying that considering the circumstances, we can't afford to let petty quarrels spiral out of control."

Hoshino-kun gave me a withering glare, apparently refusing to dignify that point with a response.

"Nice speech, Miura," Sugiura-san said, "but if Hoshino won't apologize, neither will I."

The two adversaries glared at each other for a moment, and the rest of the room watched them in silence, anxiously waiting to see if they'd come to blows. Considering that Hoshino-kun didn't care much for commonly held standards of manners and decorum, he most likely had no qualms with hitting a girl. As for Sugiura-san, while I didn't think she was the violent type, I had to admit that I didn't really know her very well.

Despite that, neither side chose to escalate this debate, and Hoshino-kun simply shook his head and stood up.

"I'm out of here," Hoshino-kun said. "Iwasawa, bring my breakfast to my room- just remember that if I drop dead, the others will know you're the blackened."

Hoshino-kun stormed off, and a moment of uncomfortable silence ensued. As much as I wanted to believe that Hoshino-kun was the only one who suspected Sugiura-san, I saw some of the others glancing over at her suspiciously. Sensei, while one of the more rational ones, knew that the file she'd read on the fourth day hadn't been fabricated, and the story of the "Ultimate Poisoner" was probably true.

"I'm sorry," I said as I sat down again. "I'm clearly not much of a mediator, am I?"

"Maybe not," Sugiura-san said, "but it's frankly unrealistic to expect that asshole to listen to you any more than he listened to Mitamura."

Tezuka-kun rolled his eyes at Sugiura-san, but it was clear that no one disagreed with her.

"Still, Miss Miura, I actually appreciate that you tried," Iwasawa-san said. "In fact, I think it's what we need."

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Miss Mitamura initially believed she had to be a flawless leader who could prevent us from murdering one another," Iwasawa-san said, "something that, while ideal, isn't practical. Instead, we need someone to guide us, and come up with ideas we can agree on as a group, and I think you might be that person."

I looked around, and saw that everyone was looking at me expectantly. I then remembered how Mitamura-san had become leader- she'd been the first to try to get us to work together. For all her flaws, I could respect her belief in working together, and her volunteering to be that person.

"All right," I said. "I don't know if I'm the best for that role, but I'll do what I can. Who here agrees with Iwasawa-san?"

Sensei immediately raised her hand, and Iwasawa-san did a second later. Before long, the other eight students, even Sugiura-san, followed suit, and I realized that the people had spoken.

"Thank you," I said. "As leader, my first suggestion is that all decisions be settled by voting. Ideally, everyone should agree to a decision, or at least most of us- I would rather not have seven people force the remaining five to do what they don't want."

"How about a two thirds majority?" Katsura-san said. "That way, if there's a significant dissenting faction, we can rethink any plan before we actually do it.

"That might work," I said. "For our first vote, now that the third floor has opened up, I'd like to ask- who's in favor of exploring it?"

Everyone said "Aye," whether out of an honest belief that exploring the new floor was the best course of action, or going along with the group. If nothing else, we were on the same page for the moment, and knew what we had to do next, so I appreciated this fleeting sense of unity and clarity of purpose.

* * *

Iwasawa-san served breakfast to all of us, dropping Hoshino-kun's meal off at his room. Once we were done, the eleven of us in the dining hall set out to explore the new floor. On the way over, we passed by the nurse's office, and saw that Monokuma had once again done his work- even if he'd only needed to remove Mizuhara-kun's body and make the bed. Once again, it was as though the murder victim had never been there at all.

Since I obviously had no reason to visit the boys' bathroom once Kurogane-kun's trial had finished, this was the first time I'd seen a murder victim's body being removed, and I was a bit amazed at how thoroughly Monokuma had done his job. A decomposing body would almost certainly be a health hazard, so I was glad it was out of the way, even if it was depressing that this school would be Mizuhara-kun's final resting place... as well as ours, if we weren't able to escape.

* * *

Once again, reaching the next floor was as simple as making our way to the stairway that had been blocked off before. That said, while it was easy to find, it didn't seem like any reasonably designed building, which should have at least one staircase that connected the top floor, the bottom floor and all the ones in between.

"So how will we go about investigating this floor, Miss Miura?" Iwasawa-san said.

"The same way as last time," I said. "Split up, look around and meet in the dining room at noon. Let me know about _anything_ of importance that you find. Is that fine with everyone?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Iwasawa-san said.

I blushed. My parents had been particular about teaching their children manners, so I was used to calling people "sir" and "ma'am"... but not to being called that myself.

"You don't have to call me that, Iwasawa-san," I said. "Just treat me like you always do, OK?"

"I will, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "Well, then, I'll be off."

As Iwasawa-san and the others fanned out to investigate the third floor, I smiled. There were many reasons for me to not emulate Mitamura-san, not the least of which was because I could never replace her in Iwasawa-san's eyes. The group needed a different sort of leader, and Iwasawa-san needed a different sort of role model, so it was up to me to do the best I could, my own way.

* * *

After walking the halls for a few minutes so that I could get a feel for the layout, my first stop was a large indoor pool. There were several things people might think of when they saw a large body of water, but the possibility of someone drowning- accidentally or otherwise- was what first came to my mind. As such, I made a mental note to officially ask for a ban on swimming, at least without a lifeguard present.

I then saw the locker rooms, protected by a handbook reader lock... and ceiling-mounted a Gatling gun. As if on cue, Monokuma then appeared.

"Ah, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "I see you've found the locker rooms."

"Perfect timing, Monokuma," I said. "I've got a few questions about the security. First, I take it you use your handbook to get in?"

"That's right!" Monokuma said. "Your handbook gets you into the side that corresponds to your gender, and you can only get into that side. If you try to sneak into the other, the gun on the ceiling will turn you into Swiss cheese, so please don't try it."

"How nice of you to warn us," I said, my voice dripping sarcasm.

"Think of it this way," Monokuma said. "It's no fun if any of you buy the farm in such an idiotic way. My goal's to get you to kill each other, y'know?"

I nodded. For a moment, I wondered if perhaps we could put an end to Monokuma's fun with a mass suicide pact, but thought better of it. We all had our reasons to want to escape, even if they didn't justify graduating, so no one was willing to simply give up and die like that. Perhaps some people would be selfish enough to kill others in order to survive and escape, but for the most part, I saw our collective will to live as a fundamentally good thing.

"Yes, I should think that would be obvious by now," I said, "but that's a fairly extreme way of keeping people out of the other gender's locker rooms."

"Hey, don't blame me," Monokuma said. "The handbook system wasn't my idea- only the Gatling gun. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Monokuma then vanished. With a sigh, I used my handbook on the girls' locker room's reader, and stepped inside. Inside the girls' locker room, I saw Edogawa-san, looking around the room. There was a set of weights, some lockers, and a poster of the Ultimate Pop Sensation in a swimsuit.

"Hello, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "I take it you also noticed the security measures outside?"

"I did," I said. "Don't you think they're a little... excessive?"

Edogawa-san nodded.

"Inoue-kun told me that he'd heard one boy was expelled from our old school for sneaking into the girls' locker room," Edogawa-san said. "Some people thought even that punishment was too harsh."

"True," I said. "Besides, what about transgender people, or people questioning their gender identity?"

"Good question," Edogawa-san said. "One of Inoue-kun's old friends, a transgender girl, had no shortage of awkwardness when trying to explain why _she_ was using girls' bathrooms and locker rooms... and that was one of her more minor problems."

My gaze fell on the poster. By the time I was once again aware of Edogawa-san's presence in the same room, she'd noticed me looking at that.

"Now that's something you don't see in your average girls' locker room," Edogawa-san said. "Even if my female schoolmates were allowed to put up something like that, they'd probably choose to put up one of a boy band or something of the sort."

"True," I said. "Maybe even Mitamura-san might have done that."

Edogawa-san giggled.

"I think so, too," Edogawa-san said. "There's no shame in indulging in relatively harmless vices as long as you're honest with yourself about it."

I nodded in agreement. While most of us had a good sense of what was right and wrong, there was a difference between not doing something because it was wrong, and not doing so because people wouldn't approve of it. Perhaps the latter was a valid concern, but it was often a fairly self-serving one, which may have been why Mitamura-san had been willing to go so far in order to keep her wrongdoing secret.

After a little while, I said goodbye to Edogawa-san, promising that whatever happened in this room stayed in this room. A part of me was still worried what people would think, but even if that fear was still with me, I didn't feel it around Edogawa-san. I didn't know why that was the case, only that I was grateful to her.

* * *

After emerging from the locker room, I was about to leave when I saw Fukuda-kun exit the boys' locker room.

"Oh, hi, Fukuda-kun," I said. "Did you check out the boys' locker room?"

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "It's nothing to write home about. It's nice that it has weights, though."

If the boys' locker room was the same as the girls' equivalent, then Fukuda-kun had a point. The equipment was surprisingly basic for an incredibly prestigious high school, with equipment that looked like it was from the 20th century. Maybe first impressions weren't everything, but it did make me wonder how the school could field a winning sports team.

"You don't sound completely happy," I said.

"Well, I need a spotter in order to do weightlifting," Fukuda-kun said, "but ever since Sakuragi died, there aren't any other guys who are into fitness. Katsura actually told me she does a little weightlifting, but she can't go inside the boys' locker room, and she's not qualified to act as a sponsor."

"That's unfortunate," I said. "I'm sorry to say this, but I'd rather not have anyone swimming or lifting weights without at least semi-qualified supervision."

"Fair enough," Fukuda-kun said. "It's kind of a shame that none of the other boys are interested in that sort of thing."

I nodded. One unfortunate part about being put into a class with fifteen highly specialized Ultimates in very different areas was that few of us had shared interests. Perhaps it forced us to interact with people who had little in common with us, but it also made planning group outings difficult.

"Speaking of genders, it's a bit weird that someone put up a picture of a boy band there," Fukuda-kun said. "My little sister Futaba's into that sort of thing."

"You have siblings?" I said.

"Yeah, three of them. Futaba's my younger sister, and she's in her third year of middle school- at least back when I got here. Santa's my younger brother, and he's in fifth grade. Yoshi, our youngest brother, is in second grade."

"Ah. I'm the younger of two sisters- my older sister just started college. What's it like being the older one?"

Fukuda-kun shrugged.

"You know, I actually talked with Akasaka about this before," Fukuda-kun said. "She's pretty mature and definitely fits the big sister role, but I don't know if I do so as well. Futaba's really smart for her age, almost enough to tutor me."

"That's pretty impressive," I said.

"It gives me perspective," Fukuda-kun said. "A lot of people say I should protect her because I'm older, or because I'm a boy, but while I'd do just about anything to keep my siblings safe, I have to admit Futaba's probably better at looking after herself than I am. Of course, I'm glad I'm the one stuck in here, not her."

"I agree," I said. "I don't know what reason our siblings would have to be here, but I'm glad my sister is safe... or at least I think she is."

Fukuda-kun looked at me inquisitively, and it wasn't hard to see why. A lot could happen in two years, so we had no idea what was going on outside, or whether our families were even safe.

"Something wrong?" Fukuda-kun said.

"This is just a thought," I said, "but what if this isn't the only killing game that's going on? After all, if this happened before, might it be happening elsewhere?"

"That'd be a pretty disturbing thought," Fukuda-kun said. "Apparently, Futaba and Akasaka's younger sister go to the same all-girls middle school, so maybe some sick bastard like Monokuma set up a killing game there, too."

"That's possible," I said. "I still don't understand why Monokuma chose us for this killing game, or who would willingly go along with him."

"Yeah," Hoshino-kun said. "I don't want to believe that one of us is the mastermind, but if we want to get out of here, we'll have to find out who they are, won't we?"

I nodded. While I'd sworn to do what I could to keep everyone safe, I knew that there were those who would undermine my efforts, and one person who wanted the killing game to continue at all costs. The idea of being betrayed by one of the people I'd come to consider my friends was a bitter pill to swallow, and while I knew I'd have to find the mastermind sooner or later, I still had no idea where to start.

* * *

I found a room that looked like the faculty office. I did a cursory investigation of the room, but wasn't able to find anything useful. There were a few interoffice memos laying about, years out of date, but nothing that would give any indication on why we were here.

As I was searching, I noticed Hoshino-kun walk in. He hadn't come with us, so I was a bit surprised to see him.

"Miura," Hoshino-kun said brusquely.

"Oh, Hoshino-kun," I said. "It looks like you heard about our expedition to the third floor."

"Yeah, Iwasawa told me that," Hoshino-kun said, "along with the fact that apparently, you're our new leader. If you'd like me to apologize for not being comfortable with having a killer around, then forget it."

"I wasn't asking for it," I said. "I just hope Iwasawa-san told you that from now on, we'll be deciding things via two thirds majority, so your participation would be appreciated."

"But you're still the one in charge, right?" Hoshino-kun said.

"Not exactly," I said. "Rather than telling everyone what to do, I hope to guide everyone so that we can come to a decision together. I know you and Mitamura-san didn't get along, but I would appreciate your support"

Hoshino-kun paused.

"You know, even if I gave Mitamura a lot of crap back when she was still alive, I didn't actually dislike her _that_ much," Hoshino-kun said. "I just didn't buy into her pretending to be a perfect honor student or believing that she knew exactly what to do the same way everyone else did. In the end, she isn't much better than the rest of those looking for a way out, and neither are you."

"I don't claim to be," I said. "I know that all of us want to escape this school, to return to our normal lives, to see our families and friends again. That's why I'm trying to help as many of us get out of here as possible."

"You actually seem like you mean it," Hoshino-kun said. "But do you have any ideas on how to get out of here? Or any way to ensure that someone doesn't kill in order to save their own hide?"

"No, I don't," I said. "I know that it won't be easy to escape, and it's very likely that another murder will happen before we do, but I want to do everything I can to ensure that everyone who's still alive can escape here."

Hoshino-kun chuckled bitterly.

"You're honest, I'll give you that," Hoshino-kun said. "If anything, you do seem to realize that the killing game won't be solved by telling everyone not to kill each other. Of course, Mitamura and Sakuragi probably knew that, too."

Hoshino-kun walked off, ending the conversation on an unsettling note. I knew full well that the prospect of finding an escape route was not a very realistic one, but also that once people gave up on that, they'd likely begin plotting murder. Perhaps Hoshino-kun saw me as naive, but I believed that as long as we worked together as a group, we'd give the others something to hope for, and a reason to think of others besides themselves.

* * *

The next room I investigated looked like a science lab. There were various lab stations around the room equipped with sinks, Bunsen burners and other supplies. Sugiura-san was investigating a cabinet full of chemicals, which didn't even seem to be locked.

"What do you want, Miura?" Sugiura-san said.

If I'd slept through the entire class trial and the argument at breakfast, I might have assumed that Sugiura-san had been replaced by her twin sister. Her voice was the same, but with a blunt and brusque tone, she seemed almost like a different person.

"Not much, Sugiura-san," I said. "I just wanted to check up on you, and see how you're doing."

"There isn't much to report," Sugiura-san said. "There's a lot of chemicals in here, but all I know about them is that they're probably not things you want to drink. I wish we had someone who was good at science."

I was tempted to ask Sugiura-san if she thought any of them were poisonous, but thought better of it.

"Anyway, is something on your mind?" I said.

"I've been thinking about the last trial," Sugiura-san said. "I can't forgive Mitamura for what she did, but I can understand her a bit more."

"How so?" I said.

"She's like me, following the rules and practicing good manners just to fit in- she wanted to keep her status as an honor student, and I wanted to keep my job. Of course, even if my concerns are more practical than hers, we're both just faking it, so I can't judge her for that."

"I don't think of it that way. My parents are naturally well-mannered, but while they're happily married, they keep things strictly professional at work. To them, it's not about lying or fitting in, but simply a matter of respect to one another, and commitment to their company."

Sugiura-san scoffed slightly.

"If you say so," Sugiura-san said. "You and your folks actually sound like you believe in that stuff, I'll give you that. As for me, it kind of makes me gag a little inside every time I have to put on the act of being super polite, so I hope you're not too disappointed."

"I'm not," I said. "I've always been taught to think of good manners as a gift you give to others, more than something you owe others or are owed yourself. Besides, I get the feeling that I'm starting to actually get to know you now, which is a good thing."

"I appreciate it, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "I dropped the act around everyone else because I didn't see the point, but it actually feels like I can be myself around you.

I smiled and nodded, then continued looking around. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be anything that could be used as an improvised explosive to break through the walls, or an acid to eat through the front door, so I had to conclude that this room was mostly useless.

"Well, this was a bust," Sugiura-san said. "I'll take a look around the rest of the floor, but don't get your hopes up, okay?"

Sugiura-san started to walk off.

"One more thing, Sugiura-san," I said, stopping her in her tracks. "Is what they say about you being the Ultimate Poisoner actually true?"

"Does my answer matter?" Sugiura-san said.

"It does to me," I said.

Sugiura-san sighed and shook her head.

"Speak for yourself," Sugiura-san said. "Hardly anyone would believe me if I said no- you saw how everyone looks at me with suspicion since the end of the last trial. There's nothing more pathetic than someone desperately proclaiming their innocence, after all, since both the innocent and the guilty do it."

"But you didn't kill Mizuhara-kun," I said, "and with your help, we were able to find his killer's identity."

"Because we had proof," Sugiura-san said. "There's nothing proving I'm not the poisoner, so I'll just have to live with that reputation."

I stood silently for a moment, until Sugiura-san excused herself. Most courts operated under the principle of "innocent until proven guilty," but the court of public opinion was an exception, and its convictions were nearly impossible to overturn. If word got out about what had supposedly happened in the past, Sugiura-san could potentially be ostracized, or even arrested as a suspect in the murder, a sobering thought that made me wonder what was in store for us in the future.

* * *

I found Yuuki-san sitting in a classroom.

"Oh, hi, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "Before you ask, this looks like just another classroom, one that hasn't been used in ages, so I couldn't find anything in it."

"How's everyone else doing?" I said.

Yuuki-san looked a bit sad.

"I talked to a couple other people," Yuuki-san said, "and apart from the new floor, almost everyone has Reiko-chan on their minds. It's good that they feel at least a little sorry for her, but..."

"You think they should save a little of that for Mizuhara-kun?" I said.

"Him, too," Yuuki-san said, "and also Shiro-kun and Akito-kun. It hasn't been that long since they died, but hardly anyone talks about them. Are we just going to forget Reiko-chan and Minato-kun after the next murder?"

I shook my head. Even if the first two deaths were "old news," that didn't mean that no one ever thought about them. Fukuda-kun had just recently mentioned Sakuragi-kun, after all, and I still couldn't help but wish Kurogane-kun and I could have made up before his death.

"That's just how things are," I said. "After a mourning period, things ultimately go back to normal. When I die, I think I'd rest easy knowing that the people close to me can go on with their lives."

"I guess," Yuuki-san said. "You can't stay sad forever, but I don't think you ever completely get over losing someone you care about."

I nodded. Even in the best-case scenario, in which we got out with the twelve of us still alive, someone would have to break the bad news to the Kurogane, Sakuragi, Mizuhara and Mitamura families. The news that their children were dead- or, in two cases, had committed murder- would break their hearts, and there wasn't much that could be done to lessen the blow.

"That's true," I said, "but I still think it's possible to get a sense of closure. Perhaps once we get out of here, funerals can be held for those who died."

"Good idea," Yuuki-san said. "I might've been to a funeral before, but I don't know the first thing about organizing one. Besides, I don't have any clothes."

"What about the uniform Mitamura-san lent you?"

"Ah, good point. They told me it was perfectly fine to wear my uniform- which is a bit like yours- to the funeral, and I didn't get why. Maybe because it's like wearing a suit and tie, and you can't go wrong with that."

I ended up getting distracted for a few minutes as I talked with Yuuki-san about her uniform- apparently, she didn't get why women didn't wear ties with their suits, even if she found tying a necktie to be "a pain"- but found those minutes well-spent. For a moment, Yuuki-san forgot about her grief, her fear and her pain, and was able to go back to her usual self- a carefree and childlike individual who could be surprisingly insightful at times, who did not deserve to be trapped in here. There would be no shortage of time to find a way out, but it was always nice to be reminded of one of my twelve major reasons to want to escape.

* * *

My next stop was the gallery, which looked like a small museum. Portraits and other paintings were hung on the wall, while there were glass display cases that showed trophies and other things, as well as one in the center of the room, the latter of which was empty. Some Ultimates' talents could easily be put on display, so this was clearly a room for the products of their work.

Inside the room, I saw Tezuka-kun, who was busy looking at a portrait on the wall.

"Hello, Tezuka-kun," I said.

"Hey, there, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "I don't suppose you have any idea how to get that thing open?"

Tezuka-kun pointed to the display case. Taking a closer look, I saw that there was a handbook reader.

"I'm guessing you swipe your handbook," I said, "since the vending machine on the previous floor had a similar reader."

"Gotcha," Tezuka-kun said. "Well, I suppose it's pointless, anyway, since there's nothing inside."

I had to wonder whether Monokuma- or even the school administration- would put something like that there without any use for it. Edogawa-san often made note of the literary device known as "Chekhov's Gun," a seemingly unimportant element that becomes important later.

"Anyway, that isn't important," Tezuka-kun said. "Check this out."

Tezuka-kun pointed at a painting that was on the wall to the left of the door, showing three-dimensional shadows walking down a street while the two-dimensional images of the actual people were cast on the pavement, a reversal of roles between person and shadow. What was drawn on that canvas, however, was less important than the plaque with the artist's name- Yusuke Tezuka.

"So you drew this, Tezuka-kun?" I said.

"Supposedly," Tezuka-kun said. "Sure, I've produced a lot of art, but I'm pretty sure I remember every piece that's good enough to put on display. This piece is pretty damn good, so I'm sure I'd remember making this."

"Maybe it's from the two years in which your memories were lost," I said. "Edogawa-san published at least one book during that time."

"Could be," Tezuka-kun said. "Speaking of stuff from that time, there's also a portrait of all of us in here."

Tezuka-kun pointed to a framed photo on the opposite side of the wall. It was the sixteen of us in our class, formed into two orderly rows of eight- some of the shorter students were seated in front, while the taller ones were standing in the rear. All of us were clad in light gray blazer-style uniforms with red neckties. It was a bit of an adjustment seeing Yuuki-san and Iwasawa-san dressed a bit more nicely than usual, but the look fit them well. The sun shone in from outside the school, and the date on the blackboard was from late April of our first year at the school.

"So that's another relic from our time at this school together," I said, "and, assuming it's real, more proof that we went to the same school."

"What if it isn't?" Tezuka-kun said.

"Then I suppose it doesn't prove anything," I said, "and in a worst-case scenario, I may have to start over when it comes to finding out why we were brought here. Still, even if Monokuma's hardly trustworthy, everything we've learned so far lines up with us being students here. The only question is why he'd erase our memories."

Tezuka-kun shrugged, and I let him get back to his investigation for now, after taking a picture of the class portrait for future reference. The idea of two years of our lives being stolen from us was a disturbing one, as was the idea that we'd forgotten something very important. As difficult as it was to accept, though, it was another piece of the puzzle that could potentially lead us to the truth behind our situation.

* * *

I found Katsura-san sitting by herself in the other classroom on this floor. Since all these classrooms looked identical, I had to check the door plate outside to confirm that it wasn't the classroom where I'd found Yuuki-san.

"Ah, there you are, Katsura-san," I said. "Have you found anything of interest?"

"Not exactly, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "It looks identical to the other classroom on this floor, and the others we've found on the second and first floors."

"I guess that makes sense," I said, "but I have to wonder how the grades are divided. At my old school, each year had its own floor. The first-years were on the ground floor, the second-years were on the middle and the third-years were on the top."

"That's fairly common," Katsura-san said. "I went to an academy with middle and high school divisions- they were in separate buildings, and even had separate uniforms, though."

I briefly pictured the idea of Katsura-san's old school being in one large six-story building, or perhaps a twelve story one if one counted elementary school, and pitied the poor souls who had class on the top floor.

"I'm curious about one thing, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "If you were a judge, what sentence would you have given Mitamura-san?"

I paused, not sure of how to answer this. Katsura-san had probably chosen Mitamura-san since she wasn't solely motivated by the desire to graduate, and there was a chance she'd have committed murder for similar reasons outside the killing game.

"I'm not an expert on the law," I said, "but while Mitamura-san was guilty of premeditated murder, I would have shown her some leniency considering that she was a minor and she showed remorse after being exposed. She seems like she could potentially have been rehabilitated, so I would have given her that chance."

"I agree," Katsura-san said. "Successful rehabilitation is best for all concerned, as there's little better than turning criminals into productive members of society."

I nodded in agreement, even as I realized that Katsura-san wasn't finished making her point.

"However,' Katsura-san continued, "it doesn't always work out so smoothly, and some people may not be willing to change. Because of that, if I knew that Mitamura-san would end up killing again if she were released, I would have sentenced her to life imprisonment... or even execution, if she'd qualified for the death penalty."

I was speechless for a moment. After witnessing two people killed in a rather brutal and horrific manner before our eyes, I had to wonder who would be willing to subject anyone else- even a murder- to a similar fate. Monokuma's executions were clearly for his perverse enjoyment, not for anything resembling justice, but I had recently started questioning whether our relatively civilized version of the death penalty was truly just.

"Of course, I'm no longer so sure of this," Katsura-san said. "Having gotten to know Mitamura-san, seen her remorse, and witnessed her horrific fate, I would have hesitated to sentence her to death if I were a judge, even if it was the legally or morally 'right' thing to do. Because of that, I know I'm not suited for those kinds of decisions."

"I don't think anyone here is," I said. "If Sakuragi-kun or Mitamura-san were put on trial, none of us would be allowed on the jury, since we're acquainted with them. Personal character aside, I don't think Mitamura-san should have been tasked with the weighty responsibility of leading us. I know I couldn't handle it."

"Maybe not," Katsura-san said. "Still, Miura-san, by sharing the burden of making decisions and ceding some of your power, you make your task more manageable. Please let me know if you need help with anything."

I nodded, then let Katsura-san get back to her investigation. People often said that power corrupted, but I believed that having sole unchecked authority over something as large as a nation or as small as a village was too much for one person to handle. Trying to ensure the survival of a dozen students, myself included, was the most difficult task I had ever undertaken, but while I couldn't trust everyone, I knew everyone had a similar interest, and was glad I could count on some people.

* * *

I proceeded to the end of the hallway and found another set of stairs up, once again blocked off by a shutter I couldn't open. Having searched the entire floor, I called everyone together and brought them to the dining hall.

"So we basically found a lot of stuff that'd fit in a school, but nothing we could use to get out," Yuuki-san said.

I nodded.

"Tezuka-kun and I found something interesting in the gallery," I said, "namely, a photo of the sixteen of us together, as a class, all wearing our school uniforms. If it is genuine, it could be the first physical proof that we all actually attended this school."

"Do you think that picture could be photoshopped?" Inoue-kun said.

"I'll admit that's possible," I said, "but we also found a picture that Tezuka-kun painted while at the school, as well as some of Edogawa-san's books. Neither of them remembers producing those works, so it's possible our memories were altered"

"How exactly does photo editing work?" Iwasawa-san said.

"It's a program with many functions," Edogawa-san said, "most of which involve cropping or improving the quality of an existing photo. In this case, Inoue-kun's suggesting that they could have taken another photo of you and photoshopped your face onto another girl's body."

"So the girl in that picture isn't really Momo-chan?" Yuuki-san said. "I didn't think there were that many girls out there who're as big or strong as she is."

"Besides, where would they get that other photo of me?" Iwasawa-san said. "No one outside of my village has ever taken my picture."

"Good question," Kagami-kun said. "Maybe it's from your student ID photo, but that would probably have been taken while you were already at the school. In any case, this seems to confirm that we were actually students here once."

"True," Iwasawa-san said. "Maybe it's just me, but I feel as though I don't know much about Talent High School. When I got recruited, I only heard the talent scout's description of the school, and various rumors about the place."

"It's not just you, Iwasawa-san," I said. "There's a lot of things about any given school that only those who attend, teach, or work at it would know, and some closely guarded secrets to which only a select few are privy. With our memories wiped, we may as well be outsiders, and I'm sure the mastermind wants it that way."

The conversation ground to a halt. While we were more or less certain of what we knew so far, we didn't know why the mastermind had erased our memories, let alone who that person was. I knew the mastermind was in this room, but had nothing to conclusively determine their identity.

"Anyway," Yuuki-san said, "I've got suggestion. Why don't we girls take a bath together before dinner?"

"That would be nice," I said. "Who else wants to come?"

All the girls chimed in.

"All right," I said. "Then we'll take a bath together in the early evening. If any of the boys are interested, they can take theirs just after we're done."

"Ladies first, huh?" Hoshino-kun said.

"Think of it this way, Mr. Hoshino," Iwasawa-san said. "While you and the other boys are in the bath, I'll be busy making you all dinner, so you'll have that to look forward to when you get out."

* * *

I returned to my room to retrieve the Monocoins, then stopped by the warehouse to get a duffel bag to hold any prizes I got from the Monomono Machine.

On the way over, I saw Katsura-san and Akasaka-san playing another game of checkers in the rec room.

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Would you like to play with either of us once I'm finished with Komaki-chan?"

I shook my head.

"I'm just passing through," I said, "on the way to the school store, a- Did you just call her by her first name?"

Akasaka-san nodded.

"Kuro-chan asked me for permission," Katsura-san said, "joking that it might get confusing to use surnames with all our siblings around. One of her old teachers noted that he had an 'Akasaka-san' in his class every few years, except for her brother, who was 'Akasaka-kun' to him."

"That's about right," Akasaka-san said. "I'm used to being called by my first name, so if you want to do so, all you have to do is ask nicely."

I suspected that Akasaka-san was dropping a hint for me, asking me to do something I wasn't ready for just yet. Still, while it was too soon to say yes, I didn't want to say no, either.

"I'll keep that in mind, Akasaka-san," I said. "I'm just surprised that you're on a first-name basis already."

Katsura-san chuckled.

"I haven't heard of any rule that dictates that you have to know someone for a certain period of time to do that," Katsura-san said. "In fact, in here, if you wait, you might not get another rchance."

"Quite true, Komaki-chan," Akasaka-san said. "Still, Miura-san, you shouldn't feel as though you have to rush into anything. It's fine to hesitate and take a moment to think things over, as long as you're not using that as an excuse to procrastinate. As for the difference... I suppose that's something only you will know."

Katsura-san nodded in agreement.

"I know," I said. "Thank you, both of you."

I said goodbye to the two for now, juggling two contradictory pieces of wisdom in my head, until I realized that the solution was simple. Even though Akasaka-san and Katsura-san knew that anyone, including each other, could die at any point, they refused to let that fact deter them from becoming friends. Perhaps there were many reasons for me to hesitate, but I had to separate the good reasons from the excuses, and not let the latter prevent me from doing what I needed to do.

* * *

I went to the school store, and found Edogawa-san and Yuuki-san chatting there. Like Akasaka-san and Katsura-san, they weren't willing to let the killing game drive a wedge between them or end their burgeoning friendship.

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "Did you get some more Monocoins?"

"I did," I said, "for my role in helping uncover Mitamura-san as the blackened. Monokuma's reasons for giving them aside, I'd argue that everyone deserves some."

"How about this?" Yuuki-san said. "You put the coins into the machine, and if you think anything would make a good present, you can give it to us."

"That sounds fair enough, Yuuki-san," Edogawa-san said. "In any case, Miura-san, the choice is yours."

"I think we have a deal," I said. "Well, then, I'll give this a go."

My first prize out of the machine was a Monokuma that was half green and looked more like a robot than Monokuma or the other two figurines did.

"Ooh, you got another one of those," Yuuki-san said. "How many do you have so far?"

"Three," I said. "In other words, I'll just need two more to complete the set."

"Go for it," Yuuki-san said. "Of course, I hope you can find more Monocoins without there needing to be another trial."

"I know," I said. "I've been looking for coins when I have time, but the only one I found was in the laundry room."

The next item I received was a large chalice with "Women's Passion" engraved on it. It was apparently made out of gold and had a few gems studded in it, but it didn't seem entirely real.

"What's this supposed to be?" I said. "And what am I supposed to do with it?"

"Maybe you could drink out of it," Yuuki-san said. "It's a cup, isn't it?"

I chuckled and shook my head.

"I'd rather not," I said. "Some of us would probably give me odd looks if I brought this cup to our meals."

"Fair enough," Edogawa-san said. "It's not as though your prize is very practical, after all."

I nodded, and suddenly started thinking about Edogawa-san. From the moment I met her, I'd always found her beautiful, and thought that her uniform suited her well- she'd mentioned in passing that she generally wore blouses, skirts and dresses on her days off, so she seemed like the sort who looked best while dressing nicely. I was interested in seeing her in casual clothing, and even more excited about the prospect of seeing her with her clothes off when we bathed together in a couple hours.

I suddenly glanced up at the chalice, and realized that I hadn't had these thoughts before I'd gotten it.

"Definitely not," I said, as I quickly stuffed my chalice into my bag.

I then took out the last of my Monocoins and put it in. I was a bit afraid of what would come out, but hoped I could complete the collection and give it to Yuuki-san.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be this time, since I got another copy of the poster in the girls' locker room. Even without the chalice in my hands, I could barely contain my excitement- now I could look at this picture whenever I wanted, without having to steal it from the locker room.

Of course, even as the lust swirled within me, my sense of restraint and discipline awakened, along with the fear of what people would think if I found it in my room. The only apparent solution was to quickly distance myself from the source of these thoughts, and give the poster away.

"Oh, it looks like the poster from the locker room," I said. "Maybe you should have it, Edogawa-san."

Edogawa-san paused, then shook her head.

"I wouldn't feel right taking it, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "You seemed fairly happy to get it, so you should have it."

I nodded, said "Thank you," and did a quick bow in gratitude before leaving.

* * *

I returned to my room and pinned up the poster, after stopping by the warehouse to get some tacks. Luckily enough, no one saw me, even though it would have been simple enough to make up an excuse to go there.

I once again felt a bit uneasy, at least until I started asking myself _why_ I felt that way. My parents would probably punish me if they found me with something like that, but I didn't know what they'd do- my best guess was that they'd simply confiscate the poster if it was only my first offense. After asking myself what was wrong with that, I realized that this was definitely a case of my being afraid of how my parents would react, rather than knowing it was wrong.

I thought back to some of the conversations I'd had in the last 24 hours or so, and realized I wasn't the only one who kept a part of themselves back. Mizuhara-kun had been hesitant to confide in others, afraid that his weakness would be exploited. Mitamura-san was afraid of being rejected, so she kept her façade of being an honor student up at any cost. Sugiura-san forced herself to be polite, hiding her cynical and brusque true personality. Each of them had something to lose, from their reputations to their lives, but what about me?

Normally, I would say "reputation," perhaps even "life" when it came to some of those more...vehemently opposed to homosexuality, but the truth was that apart from the recently deceased Mitamura-san, I didn't know many people who would judge me. Both Edogawa-san and Yuuki-san had some inkling of how I liked girls, and neither disapproved of it. As for my parents, while my fear that they would take the news badly had a great deal of precedent, there was no solid evidence for it. I had reason to be afraid of what would happen if I came out of the closet, but how likely were my fears to come to pass?

As I looked at the poster, I realized I was still afraid of what people would think about my attraction to other girls, but also, that I'd come to understand the basis of that fear. At the very least, that was enough reason not to incinerate this poster.

* * *

After my moment of reflection ended, I checked my watch and realized it was time for the girls to get together for the bath. Once we did, we got undressed in the adjoining locker room, then proceeded to the baths. The room was fairly wide open, with mirrors and stools along the wall, as well as washing bowls, towels, shampoo and everything else we'd need. The bath itself would have been large enough to fit all sixteen of us- if we were all alive and willing to take part in mixed bathing- and was deep enough that the water almost came up to my shoulders.

"Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they're being watched?" I said after we all got into the bath.

"It's your imagination," Sugiura-san said. "Take a look around- do you see any cameras here?"

I scanned the room, then shook my head.

"No, I guess not," I said. "I'm probably just paranoid."

"I know where you're coming from, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Someone hid a camera in the girls' showers at my school. For a couple weeks after it got discovered, all the girls in my class smelled like sweat after gym, since none of them wanted to take a shower."

"It happened at your school, too, Kuro-chan?" Yuuki-san said. "Maybe Kaori-chan had the same thing happen to her."

I shook my head. At the very least, I was lucky enough to not have to deal with voyeuristic perverts who had a fetish for high school girls.

"Not that I know of," I said. "I suppose I'm just on edge because of all the cameras here."

"That's only natural," Katsura-san said. "Of course, Monokuma does use the security footage to confirm the blackened's identity in which trial. If he didn't know that... I don't know what would happen."

The conversation stopped short. After a moment, Yuuki-san, who'd been looking in Katsura-san's direction for a little while, changed the subject.

"Wow, Komaki-chan," Yuuki-san said. "I didn't notice because you're wearing your suit all the time, but you've got some pretty nice muscles."

I glanced at Yuuki-san, then at Katsura-san. Yuuki-san's figure was somewhat athletic, but also was fairly slim and curvaceous, so it was clear she didn't do much muscle training. Katsura-san, however, was somewhat muscular, even if it was only apparent when she was naked.

"Thank you, Yuuki-san," Katsura-san said, "but I'm not nearly as strong as Iwasawa-san. Lifting weights just to stay healthy and in shape doesn't compare to working on a farm, after all."

As Iwasawa-san blushed at the compliment, I nodded in agreement. Iwasawa-san clearly seemed very strong, even at a glance, but I was able to tell how much after I saw her with her clothes off.

"Good for her," Sugiura-san said. "The kindest thing people can say about me in gym is that I don't do that badly for someone my size."

I looked at Sugiura-san, hoping to say something to prove her wrong, but nothing came to mind. She was fairly petite, without much muscle mass, so her strength and stamina weren't anything exceptional. She could probably carry trays of food for hours-long shifts, but wasn't much good at catching, hitting, kicking or throwing a ball.

"Sports isn't purely about strength, Sugiura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Having the arm strength to swing a baseball bat doesn't mean I can hit the ball with any degree of reliability, and being able to run from base to base without getting tired doesn't do much good if I can't get many runs."

Akasaka-san's physique was average. She wasn't necessarily out of shape, but she clearly spent more time playing checkers than she did in the gym.

"Quite true, Akasaka-san," Edogawa-san said. "Luckily for me, my school gives out good grades in gym class to anyone who shows up all the time, and actually seems to be trying."

As expected, Edogawa-san seemed a bit lighter than one would expect from her height and age. Still, even if she wasn't the strongest or fastest girl around, she was beautiful, and I couldn't turn my eyes away from her.

"Is something wrong, Miura-san?" Edogawa-san said.

I shook my head, then quickly tried to change the subject.

"N-Nothing," I said. "I was just thinking that most boys I know would be preoccupied with a certain pair of blobs of fat on our chests, not with our muscles."

"Their loss," Iwasawa-san said. "Then again, boys like that probably wouldn't be my 'type,' anyway. What about you, Miss Miura?"

I sighed. Iwasawa-san had done well to pick up my cue, but she'd ended up steering the conversation back to an uncomfortable subject.

"I... don't really have one," I said. "When all my female friends talked about the guys they liked, I couldn't really participate- it was a bit like talking about your favorite shows when I didn't even have a TV in the house. All I could do was listen to them and politely express interest, rather than participate on any meaningful level."

My friendships until now hadn't been particularly deep or meaningful, but I still valued them, and wasn't ready to give them up easily. Because of that, I held myself back and kept certain things to myself, since I was scared of having an argument and letting our friendship fall apart. Hoshino-kun probably would have found that hilarious, whether because of the inherent dishonesty, or because I cared so much about other people.

Iwasawa-san giggled, and I wondered what was so funny.

"That's a nice analogy," Iwasawa-san said, "since my family doesn't have a TV, either. Still, I hope you don't feel too much pressure to change yourself just to fit in, since that's a part of yourself, isn't it?"

With a smile, I said, "I know."

We spent a little while in the tub, making "girl talk" about subjects besides boys, until we were ready to get out. We then exited the bath, dried ourselves off, got dressed again and left, not wanting to monopolize the baths.

You're probably wishing you could actually see this scene yourself instead of just imagining it, aren't you? I suppose I can't really judge you for that, since I enjoyed seeing my female classmates with their clothes off, especially Edogawa-san. I'm not proud of that part of myself, but I can't deny it, either- it's a bit like how one of my mom's friends still loves her son, even though he's a college dropout who's had a few scrapes with the law. Maybe I couldn't change the fact that I was a lesbian, but I could learn to live with it.

* * *

After getting out of the bath, Iwasawa-san started working on dinner, while I rounded up the boys to let them know it was their turn to use the baths. After I finished, I found Sugiura-san sitting by herself in the kitchen.

"Is something wrong?" I said.

"You could say that," Sugiura-san said. "Iwasawa said she'd cook dinner from now on- it's clear she doesn't trust me.."

I shook my head.

"That isn't necessarily true," I said. "She has a strong sense of responsibility, and wants to help out however she can. Dinner's always been her job, one that we count on her to do, so it's only natural that she wants to keep it up."

"I suppose," Sugiura-san said. "Cooking- at least at the level of amateurs like us- doesn't involve all that much skill but is very important, so I get why Iwasawa would want to handle it."

I nodded. We couldn't get takeout in here, so we were purely responsible for our own meals. As such, we were grateful to have something that was on par with our parents' cooking, so Iwasawa-san's position was an invaluable one.

"Of course, there's another side to that," Sugiura-san said, "namely, that it's utterly humiliating being told that you can't be trusted to handle a simple task like that. Some of my fellow servers got fired for one mistake or another, and all of them looked completely devastated to have fucked up such a simple job."

I nodded.

"Well, I might have an idea," I said. "Why don't I have you cook dinner tomorrow night, and I'll be the first to test it?"

Sugiura-san blushed and fidgeted a little. I'd made my offer out of genuine kindness, but she clearly felt a bit awkward about accepting it.

"So in other words, you're betting your life on me?" Sugiura-san said. "No pressure, huh?"

"It's not just for your sake," I said. "I need everyone able to cooperate, and that won't be possible if they don't trust you. Perhaps giving you a chance to prove that you can be trusted might help."

"I'll do what I can," Sugiura-san said. "Hoshino's probably going to be a tough sell, but I appreciate that you're thinking of this."

I nodded and thanked Sugiura-san. Nothing about being leader of this group was easy, but by having people who would cooperate and work well together, my task would be less difficult. Because of that, I hoped to foster a sense of trust in one another, hoping that it would stave off the killing game's encouraging us to betray and kill each other.

* * *

At dinner, Iwasawa-san served everyone chicken with a side of vegetables, identical to what we'd had on the second night. No one was complaining, since all of us had to appreciate Iwasawa-san's cooking for us, but I wondered if some of us wanted a little more variety, and if Iwasawa-san wanted an occasional night off.

"I have a proposal for you all," I said. "I spoke with Sugiura-san, and she expressed an interest in cooking for us again. In order to...allay any suspicions of her, I plan on personally taste testing her food, and would like to have her try tomorrow night. Is that fine with you?"

Most of the others simply nodded, confirming that they'd heard me.

"It is," Edogawa-san said. "Since you're assuming the risk, Miura-san, it's up to you. Please be careful, though."

"Thank you, Edogawa-san," I said. "I promise you- I will be."

Hoshino-kun merely scoffed, a surprisingly tame reaction from him.

"Do what you want," Hoshino-kun said. "I'd rather play chicken with a bullet train than eat anything she serves up, but it's your call."

"I believe there's merit to Miura-san's proposal," Katsura-san said. "Considering that everyone knows that Sugiura-san is responsible for cooking, I doubt that she would try to poison anyone, considering that we'd already found and solved a similar murder last night. Besides, it would be good to have another cook, should anything happen to Iwasawa-san."

The others nodded in agreement.

"So can I take it that everyone except for Hoshino-kun supports this?" I said.

"It seems that way," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm willing to give Sugiura-san a second chance- I only hope Mr. Hoshino doesn't end up going hungry."

"I can just get something from the vending machine," Hoshino-kun said, "or else I can eat it after making sure Miura isn't dead. Better to eat a cold dinner than a poisoned one, right?"

We soon got back to eating, and I realized that while I'd given Sugiura-san an opportunity to prove herself trustworthy, no one was going to forget what they'd heard in the previous trial. Their caution was understandable, as well as a feeling I shared, since I didn't want to lose any more of my friends, so I hoped my decision would prove to be the correct one.

* * *

After dinner, I saw Kagami-kun standing outside the dining hall, evidently waiting for me.

"Do you have a minute, Miura-san?" Kagami-kun said.

"Certainly, Kagami-kun," I said, as I stopped and talked to him."

"Trusting Sugiura-san was a fairly courageous and principled decision to make," Kagami-kun said. "Not that many people would stick their necks out for someone like Sugiura-san."

I could tell from his tone that he was almost as suspicious of her as Hoshino-kun was, but significantly more tactful about it. I couldn't tell whether his restraint was due to politeness or fear of getting on the Ultimate Poisoner's bad side, though.

"Are you saying you wouldn't have?" I said, trying not to sound defensive.

Kagami-kun shrugged.

"It's hard to say," Kagami-kun said. "On the one hand, anyone could become a killer, so the fact that Sugiura-san didn't kill Mizuhara-kun doesn't mean she won't _ever_ kill someone. It's natural to be cautious around her, just like one should be around everyone else here."

"I'll be careful," I said.

Kagami-kun simply nodded. He didn't seem like someone who'd put much stock in mere promises, so my words probably weren't very convincing.

"That said," Kagami-kun said, "I do sympathize with Sugiura-san bearing the burden of a reputation as a poisoner, and do believe that she deserves a chance to earn everyone's trust."

"I'm glad you think so," I said. "Writing her off as untrustworthy isn't just unfair, but it could destabilize the group. If she becomes a pariah, she may end up sabotaging our efforts."

"True," Kagami-kun said. "By the way, I was talking with Sugiura-san earlier, and we speculated as to what my talent might be. She said it probably something more glamorous than the Ultimate Waitress and more pleasant than the Ultimate Poisoner.'

"That... sounds like something she'd say," I said. "Ever since the last trial, she hasn't minced words."

Kagami-kun chuckled.

"I know," Kagami-kun said. "In all seriousness, though, that does go to show how important reputation is, and how difficult it can be to overcome a bad one. Maybe, if my memory never returns, I could think of this as an opportunity to start over, to become the person I want to be."

"Maybe," I said. "Of course, if I lost my memory, I'd be desperate to remember everything- fond memories, my skills, everything I've accomplished, the names of everyone important to me, and everything else that makes me the person I am. Even if I'm 'just' the Ultimate Beginner's Luck, I don't want to forget that, since that's part of what makes me who I am."

"That's the spirit," Kagami-kun said. "It isn't easy to establish a healthy sense of self-confidence without a 'real' Ultimate talent as the basis, but I'm glad you could manage that. After all, for all of her accomplishments and her good grades, Mitamura-san was inwardly vulnerable at heart, so maybe you're a stronger person than she is."

I nodded and thanked Kagami-kun, before setting off to get Edogawa-san something from the snack machine. I still wasn't sure what to think of the Ultimates placing such a high degree of trust and confidence in me, but hoped to do what I could to ensure it was well-placed.

* * *

Shortly before the night time announcement, I retired to my room for the evening.

I couldn't help but wonder whether I was out of my depth leading the twelve survivors. My old school's mahjong club only barely had enough members for the school to let us stay open, but I wasn't a viable candidate for president- everyone else there had more seniority, playing skill and/or leadership ability than I did. If few people would trust me to lead a club that small, what business did I have leading a larger group in a life-or-death situation?

The simple answer was that while there were any number of people better suited to leadership positions, none of them were here. All of us had to make do with what we had- our former leader had been a perfectionist honor student, our cook was a girl who grew up on a farm, and the murder mystery enthusiasts were our best hope at solving crimes. Rather than complain about not having a teacher, a chef or a detective with us, we simply did the best we could with what we had.

I put my doubts out of my head for the moment. My task wold be difficult, and my success was not guaranteed, but if I did what I could for the good of the group, then perhaps I might succeed in keeping some of us alive a little longer.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _They say you can't change the past, but you can rewrite history._

 _Did you lead a life as a boring salaryman? Just write an autobiography in which that's a cover for being an international spy._

 _Did your favorite character get killed off, practically right off the bat? Just write a fanfic in which they survive for the entire story._

 _The future may not go the way you expect, or the way you want, but you can always change what's already happened._

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows.

Now that Miura's leader of the group, she'll face many of the same trials Mitamura did. The coming days will be a test of how well she holds together under the pressure, and as murders happen on her watch (this shouldn't be too surprising; it is a Danganronpa fic, after all).

In each Danganronpa game, there's a gift that awakens the player character's more perverse side, as you can see with the chalice Miura got (based on the chalice symbol that represents femininity).

Some of the omakes will show Miura's past and relationships with her family.

* * *

 _Omake_

On a Friday afternoon in late April, the bell rang in my homeroom.

"That's all for today," my homeroom teacher, a woman in her early thirties, said. "Miura-san, it's your turn today."

"Yes ma'am," I said, as I stood up. "Everyone, please stand... and bow."

My class then followed suit in the daily ritual, which was so ingrained in their heads that they barely needed my prompting.

"Thank you, class," my teacher said. "I will see you all tomorrow."

All of us filed out the classroom, thinking ahead to the future. For me, mahjong club would be this time tomorrow, Golden Week would be in a little over a week, we'd switch into our summer uniforms in six weeks, and summer vacation would be in about three months. Since we led fairly peaceful and safe lives, we had the luxury of thinking ahead to wherever we wanted to be.

On my way out, I saw my sister, waiting for me. We looked enough alike, especially in matching uniforms, that we almost seemed like twins- her main distinguishing characteristic was that her hair was longer than mine, and worn in a ponytail.

"Ah, there you are, Kaori," my sister said. "How was school today?"

"Pretty good, sis," I said. "A lot of my classmates are looking forward to Golden Week... and are _not_ looking forward to midterms."

"Same here," my sister said. "One of my classmates, a boy who's barely passing, was surprised that someone with my grades doesn't enjoy school. It's pretty simple- I don't enjoy it because it's hard work, and it'll only get harder for me now that I'm studying for entrance exams."

"I know," I said. "I suppose I have that to 'look forward to,' don't I?"

My sister nodded, confirming my guess. Thanks to her, I had a fairly good idea of what my life would be like two years down the road, so making predictions was fairly easy.

"You do," my sister said, "but high school can also be fun and pleasant. Don't neglect to plan for the future, but don't forget to enjoy your time here. As stressful as this year will be, I'm glad to have one year at the same school as my sister and my other friends, so I hope you'll learn to do the same."

I nodded, and said "Thanks, sis."

Back then, neither of us expected that I'd be accepted into Talent High School, much less end up in a killing game, but that hardly mattered. Even though life hadn't gone as I'd planned, there are some truths that stay almost constant, and not taking your time for granted is one of them.


	12. Chapter III, Part 2

_Day 10_

I woke up a few minutes before I usually did, in order to ensure that I'd have enough time to get dressed and make it to the dining hall on time for breakfast. While Mitamura-san's perfectionist attitude was neither realistic nor healthy, Katsura-san had a point when she said that people would judge me on small matters, such as my clothes and grooming. I couldn't lead well if people didn't trust and respect me, so the only question was how to earn that respect.

Perhaps the best example I could think of to emulate was my old mahjong club president. She was always the first to come and the last to leave. She did everything she could to help the club, from cleaning up to reading mahjong books. Her playing skills were mediocre even by the standards of our club, but she never stopped trying to improve herself, so that she could give guidance to whoever needed. Her efforts weren't enough to get a team like ours anywhere without the help of an unusually talented newcomer, but we all respected her, since we appreciated what she was doing. She was a normal person, trying her best to help others even though it was likely beyond her abilities. My task was difficult, maybe even impossible, but if I gave it less than 100 percent, I'd be doing a disservice to myself and the others.

* * *

We didn't have much to discuss at breakfast, since we'd already thoroughly explored the third floor. Although the twelve of us were divided over three floors of a facility built for hundreds of students, and dozens of faculty and staff, it didn't take long to investigate almost every nook and cranny, considering we had nowhere else to go and little else to do.

Eventually, the discussion ground to a halt. Most of us simply sat there, while some of the slower eaters were finishing the last of their food. After a few moments of silence, Yuuki-san spoke up.

"I've got an idea, even if it isn't related to getting out of the school," Yuuki-san said. "When we get out of here, why not have Sae-chan write a book to tell the world about what happened?"

"It's an interesting concept, Yuuki-san," Inoue-kun said. "A tragedy like this deserves to be remembered, since, as they say, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Maybe that's why this killing game is happening a second time."

"You could be right," I said. "Then again, with our memories erased, we don't know anything about the previous killing game, or even whether Monokuma's telling the truth."

"I agree with Inoue-kun," Edogawa-san said. "That said, while I would be willing to take on this project, it wouldn't be right for me to profit from this tragedy."

I had to wonder how much money Edogawa-san had earned from her books. She probably only got a small portion as royalties, but a small slice of a large pie is still a big dessert. Of course, the look on Yuuki-san's face made it clear that she'd had forgotten to consider that authors made a profit from their books, and simply assumed Edogawa-san saw her writing a labor of love.

"Then maybe you could give the money to a good cause," Yuuki-san said. "Like, maybe the families of the students who died?"

"Hold on," Hoshino-kun said. "Giving money to the victims' families isn't a bad idea, but what about the relatives of the people who committed murders? Do you really think they deserve the money?"

"They should qualify, too!" Akasaka-san said. "They were victims of their circumstances."

"Kuro-chan's right!" Yuuki-san said. "They wouldn't have killed anyone if they didn't need to get out of here!"

"Yeah, right," Hoshino-kun said. "Sakuragi didn't need any of Monokuma's motives to kill anyone, while Mitamura killed Mizuhara to keep her own cheating under wraps. I could see both those assholes becoming killers in the real world. You're going to reward their families because their kids committed murder?"

"It's not about rewarding them," Iwasawa-san said, "it's about compensating them for the loss of one of their family, who might have earned a lot of money in their future career as an Ultimate. I'm sure Miss Mitamura would have taken care of her parents in their old age if she'd lived that lo-"

"If she'd lived?" Hoshino-kun said, before letting off a derisive laugh. "You mean 'if she'd _graduated!'_ Don't you get that if she got away with her plan to kill Mizuhara to keep her skeletons in the closet, all the spotless would've died, _including you_?"

Iwasawa-san, went silent, Akasaka-san was crestfallen, Yuuki-san squirmed in her seat and I was at a loss for words.

It was difficult to admit, but Hoshino-kun wasn't wrong to say what he did. The fact that Mitamura-san and Sakuragi-kun had deliberately murdered Mizuhara-kun and Kurogane-kun, respectively and chosen to let the rest of us die was difficult to forgive, however you looked at it. I could perhaps sympathize with their fears and desperation, but in the end, they'd become blackened by choice, not by accident. For that reason, I believed that voting to sacrifice them was the right choice, if only because it was the only way those who had done nothing wrong could survive... but it also wasn't a decision any of us should have had to make.

"Say what you want about circumstances or reasons," Hoshino-kun said, "but in the end, even if Monokuma's keeping us here, he's not the one who's actually committing the murders. Sakuragi and Mitamura both gave him what he wanted, after all, and so will anyone else who follows their example."

"Enough, Hoshino-kun," I said. "We all are responsible for our actions, but Sakuragi-kun and Mitamura-san did what they did because they believed it was the only choice they had in the situation. My goal is to give us all another choice, one in which everyone still alive can survive and escape, so that none of us will be forced to sacrifice our classmates in order to live."

"So you're actually taking a side now, Miura?" Hoshino-kun said. "That's actually something of an improvement, even if this time, you're _dead fucking wrong._ "

Hoshino-kun then stormed off, leaving his half-eaten breakfast on his plate. After a moment, Yuuki-san stood up, did a deep bow of apology while saying "I'm sorry, guys," and then left.

As silence reigned in the dining hall, I let out a long sigh.

"Taking a side or not taking a side..." I said. "I can't win, can I?"

"Not when you're playing against Hoshino," Sugiura-san said. "I have to admit he had a point, but he didn't have to be such a goddamn prick about it."

So perhaps even Sugiura-san and Hoshino-kun actually agreed on some things. That wasn't too surprising given their fairly cynical natures, but neither seemed very willing to admit it.

"Still," Sugiura-san said, "I'm actually glad that you said something to him, Miura. Some people try to stay neutral in order to avoid offending people, while others go with whatever's most convenient for them. With you, at least you said what you believe in, even if it isn't necessarily right."

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Sugiura-san said.

"Nothing, Sugiura-san," I said. "You and Hoshino-kun seem to agree on that point."

"A fact that I'm not happy to admit," Sugiura-san said. "Let's forget about that asshole for the rest of breakfast, okay?"

Everyone nodded and ate the rest of their meal in silence, but I didn't feel any better. We'd achieved coexistence, but that wasn't the same as trust and cooperation. We'd have to be able to talk about the difficult subjects in a civil manner, and openly address our disagreements, or we'd never be able to escape.

* * *

After breakfast, I caught up with Edogawa-san and Yuuki-san, the latter of whom was close to tears, in the hallway near Yuuki-san's dorm room.

"Are you feeling all right, Yuuki-san?" I said.

"A little," Yuuki-san said. "I'm sorry I said anything about writing a book."

"Don't be," I said. "I actually had the same idea myself."

"True," Edogawa-san said. "I'm actually touched that the two of you think I can handle the difficult job of chronicling a very real tragedy."

"Isn't that kind of what you do in your murder mystery novels, Edogawa-san?" I said. "You point out that each murder is a tragedy, and all Aiko is doing is ensuring that justice is done. She once said that all she can do is find the truth, and leave the criminal's judgment to those who are wiser than her."

Edogawa-san softly nodded, clearly remembering Aiko's lines to the murder culprit in the second novel. Over the course of the second novel, Aiko came to terms with her exposing the culprit in the first one, so she was able to do so again once she cracked her second major case. The killing game didn't offer much time for introspection, but I had to admit I'd gone through a similar process around the time of Mitamura-san's murder.

"You put that way better than I ever could, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "I feel awful saying this... but I'm a bit jealous of you and Sae-chan."

"You're jealous of me, Yuuki-san?" I said.

Yuuki-san nodded forlornly, ashamed to admit it.

"Yeah," Yuuki-san said. "You two are so smart, finding out the clues Akito-kun and Reiko-chan left behind and seeing through their plans. I'm grateful that you did, since you saved all our lives twice, but it isn't fair to just rely on you two all the time, is it?"

I shook my head. It was still a bit hard to accept that people had been relying on me even before I set out to lead the others.

"I couldn't have done this without a lot of people's help," I said. "Other people gave me critical evidence- you pointed out that it was suspicious that Mitamura-san briefly stopped by the kitchen- and we needed a majority vote to convict the blackened, most of you had to believe me. I'm just doing my best because I want to keep as many of us alive as possible, including you."

"I feel the same way," Edogawa-san said. "To be honest, Yuuki-san, you remind me a bit of my older sister Makoto- someone who isn't an Ultimate or even particularly good at school, but a kind young woman who's dear to me. I think the two of you would get along quite well, which is why I'd like to get out and introduce you to her someday."

"Thanks, Sae-chan," Yuuki-san said, "but I'm kind of surprised that you think of me as a bit like your _big_ sister. I thought you were the reliable older sibling type."

Edogawa-san giggled.

"There are times when I've been called the mature one," Edogawa-san said. "That said, while I sympathize with those who want my sister to act her age, I hope she remains fundamentally the same person, the same goes for you."

"Glad to hear that," Yuuki-san said. "It sounds like you two get along, even though you're so different."

"Opposites attract, as they say," Edogawa-san said. "I've always been a bit reserved by nature, so I enjoyed having cheerful and outgoing people like you and my sister around. In fact, I actually admire your confidence and willingness to be casual with others- I'd even hesitate to ask for permission to call someone by their first name, since I'd be afraid that they'd get offended and say no."

I was tempted to point out that I'd never met anyone like that. My mom, the most polite person I knew, was perfectly fine with being called by her first name outside of work, and even Mitamura-san had eventually come to tolerate Yuuki-san using her first name. Of course, the more relevant fact was that I actually had that in common with Edogawa-san.

"Well, I wouldn't," Yuuki-san said. "Just keep that in mind and introduce me to Makoto-san someday, okay?"

"I will," Edogawa-san said.

We nodded, then Yuuki-san excused herself, clearly needing some time alone despite having cheered up a little. I gave her that space, hoping she'd be her old self the next time I saw her.

* * *

Shortly after Edogawa-san and I went our separate ways, Akasaka-san found me on the first floor of the school.

"Ah, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Have you seen Yuuki-san since breakfast?"

"I found her just a little while ago," I said. "She's still a bit depressed that her innocent comment caused an argument... among other things."

"I see," Akasaka-san said. "I feel like I played a role, too, so I should apologize to her."

"If it makes either of you feel better," I said. "Like I said, I actually agree with what you said about the killers."

Akasaka-san smiled softly.

"You might be surprised, but I actually agree with Sugiura-san," Akasaka-san said. "While some of my siblings occasionally get into fights, and sometimes both deserve punishment, there's some times when only one party is in the wrong. My parents don't enjoy handing down punishments, but they do so when they must."

"As they should," I said. The most common interpretation of the phrase "Spare the rod and spoil the child" went a bit far, since my parents never spanked or hit their daughters, but I agreed that my sister and I needed discipline.

"Indeed, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "No one is always right, but I believe you should stand by your decisions, even when the choice isn't an easy one."

I nodded, but didn't feel entirely sure of myself. While I hoped to take into account the group's opinions, there were times when I'd have to make important decisions, and I'd have to walk a thin line to be decisive without being arrogant. If nothing else, admitting that I was fallible was a good place to begin.

* * *

A few hours later, I found Edogawa-san in the library, sitting in a chair by herself and reading.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said.

"Hello, Edogawa-san," I said. "What are you up to?"

"I'm just reading my latest book," Edogawa-san said. "One silver lining of losing my memory is that I can actually read my own work without knowing how it will end."

"I can definitely agree," I said with a chuckle. "Knowing myself, I've probably already read that book, too."

"I thought you'd say that," Edogawa-san said with a smile.

We shared a laugh, though, but afterward, Edogawa-san's smile quickly faded.

"Is something wrong?" I said.

"I've been thinking about our conversation with Yuuki-san this morning," Edogawa-san said, "as well as one we'd had just a little while ago. I was a bit surprised that someone as cheerful and energetic as her could be so troubled."

"I think I know where she's coming from," I said. "There's little more frustrating than not being able to do what you want- or need- to do."

The killing game had a way of making us painfully aware of our own inadequacies. Those who weren't especially strong or fast would have little chance of thwarting a would-be murderer, those who were not especially intelligent would have trouble solving mysteries, and those with little internal fortitude could potentially crack and give in to despair.

"I know," Edogawa-san said. "That said, please give an honest answer- how good would you say your grades are?"

"Pretty good," I said. "Before I got scouted, my advisor and I discussed possible college choices, and they said many doors would be open to me, even if I didn't have much of a chance of getting into the big-name schools."

"That's good," Edogawa-san said. "Between us, Yuuki-san said she only barely passed her classes last year."

I was a bit surprised to hear this, even though I still remembered Yuuki-san casually mentioning that she'd had trouble with school. In addition to the many things that we were taught in the classroom, school showed us that results often mattered in life, even if we weren't necessarily good at what we were being asked to do.

"I think there's an important lesson for you here, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "You have your strong points- kindness, honesty, intelligence and many others- and while none of them are Ultimate quality, you still have many gifts to use for yourself, your friends and family, and society, depending on your choices. This may sound hollow coming from the Ultimate Mystery Novelist, but I hope you take it to heart."

I nodded.

"I will," I said. "My talent gives me just enough of a taste of what it's like to be the best of something that I want more, but I'm starting to realize that it isn't everything it's cracked up to be."

"That's true," Edogawa-san said. "Still, when I asked Yuuki-san whether she'd trade being the Ultimate Cheerleader for vastly greater intelligence, she gave a very emphatic 'No way!' When I asked why, she said she didn't just enjoy being a cheerleader, but saw it as being a part of her identity- something I also believe about my own talent."

"That makes sense," I said.

"Yuuki-san also made an interesting analogy," Edogawa-san said. "She said, and I quote, 'Even if I'd rather trade my Ultimate Talent for something else- brains, friends or money- I'd still have to admit that it's one heck of a bargaining chip. A lot of people don't have any of those, do they?'"

"No, they don't," I said. "There's little more ordinary than being lonely, poor or untalented."

"Exactly," Edogawa-san said, "and I think our talk perked Yuuki-san up. She might not have a sharp mind, but she has a good heart and a strong spirit, so I think she'll do just fine."

"I hope so, too," I said. "I'm sure she'd do well at any job she's qualified for."

Edogawa-san and I spent a little while thinking of jobs Yuuki-san would do well at. I personally proposed that she'd be good at providing "service with a smile" as a waitress, while Edogawa-san thought she'd potentially be a good receptionist once she worked on her manners- while on the job, she'd have to call me "Miura-sama" instead of "Kaori-chan," for one. Still, I could see Yuuki-san putting in the effort, learning and becoming good at her job, which was all the more reason why she didn't deserve to be stuck in here.

* * *

I went to the gallery and saw Hoshino-kun looking at Tezuka-kun's painting. The artist himself was also there, standing by and patiently waiting for Hoshino-kun to finish. From what I could gather, Hoshino-kun had probably just happened by, or perhaps reluctantly accepted Tezuka-kun's invitation, and was now being asked to give his opinion on the painting.

"Do you _really_ want my opinion, Tezuka?" Hoshino-kun said.

"Well, it's not like you ask for permission anyway," Tezuka-kun said, "but shoot."

Hoshino-kun turned up his nose.

"It's pretentious garbage that tries to pass itself off as symbolic," Hoshino-kun said, gesturing toward a nearby trash can. "I might not have the skills to make a picture like that, but at least I have the good sense not to claim that it's a work of art, or that you're an artist."

"Hey, I never said that I did," Tezuka-kun said. "The school's talent judges- an art professor, a museum curator and the school's art teacher- were the ones who evaluated my work and chose me as the Ultimate Abstract Artist. I can't say I understand their criteria, but they seemed to know what they were doing."

"So they're also a bunch of dumbasses with questionable artistic taste," Hoshino-kun said. "Do they apply any sort of scrutiny to their Ultimates' work, or do they put a gold star on everything?"

"Well, aren't you cynical, Hoshino?" Tezuka-kun said. "So I'm assuming that you also question why you got in, don't you?"

"I'm as hard on myself as I am on others," Hoshino-kun said. "If I were the Ultimate Abstract Artist instead of the Ultimate Astronomer, I'd work hard to be worthy of the title, not churn out crap like that."

"Considering that you know as little about aesthetics as I know about stars, I can't see that happening," Tezuka-kun said. "You're a... a..."

As I was about to step in and try to break up this argument, Tezuka-kun noticed me.

"Oh, Miura, good timing," Tezuka-kun said. "What's a word for someone with very little appreciation for the arts?"

"A philistine," I said.

"That's it," Tezuka-kun said. "You're a philistine, Hoshino."

"And you're a pitiful excuse for an artist, Tezuka," Hoshino-kun said. "Don't show me your work again until you produce something halfway acceptable."

Hoshino-kun stormed off, not even bothering to acknowledge me as he walked by. As soon as he was gone, I turned back to Tezuka-kun, who looked somewhat annoyed.

"Are you all right, Tezuka-kun?" I said.

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I've heard people like Hoshino talk shit about my work before, so it doesn't really faze me."

"That doesn't excuse it," I said. "There's a line between constructive criticism and outright insults."

"That's right," Tezuka-kun said, "but if I know he's full of shit, what he has to say doesn't bother me. Asking for his opinion was a waste of time, but my feelings aren't hurt."

I smiled, a bit relieved.

"Still, Hoshino-kun's an asshole, but he's got some real balls," Tezuka-kun said. "Most people who say the kind of shit he does hide behind screen names and all sorts of stuck-up artsy jargon, and wouldn't dare do it to the artist's face. He might have his head up his ass, but at the very least, I owe it to him to say that straight out, to his face."

As the mental image formed in my mind, I couldn't help but giggle.

"What's so funny?" Tezuka-kun said.

"N-Nothing," I said. "How are you going to say it to his face, if his head's... up his... ass?"

"Ah, good point," Tezuka-kun said. "Anyway, my point is that Hoshino and I are a lot alike- we just say whatever comes to our minds. It's damn near impossible for us to get along, but I can't hate him for being what he is."

It wasn't hard to see why two people with very similar personalities often weren't compatible with each other. Two headstrong, belligerent and argumentative individuals would often bicker, while on the other hand, two wishy-washy and indecisive individuals wouldn't get anything done. By comparison, Yuuki-san and Edogawa-san were different people who nicely complemented each other- Yuuki-san helped draw the reserved Edogawa-san out of her shell, while Edogawa-san could give Yuuki-san good advice.

"That's good," I said. "I suppose it's too much to ask you to be friends with him, but please try to be civil with him, OK?"

"I can't promise too much," Tezuka-kun said, "but I'll do what I can."

I nodded in approval, then tried to give a good analysis of his picture. I couldn't think of many substantial criticisms that would help Tezuka-kun improve, but he was fairly satisfied, and didn't think I was giving him empty praise. He listened attentively, and thanked me for my time with a smile on his face.

All the while, I couldn't help but think about the sentiment behind Hoshino-kun's actions, and realized that while he could often be unpleasant, even unlikable, he had an uncomfortably true point. Much of the everyday kindness and courtesy people showed to others was superficial, perhaps even self-serving. Not only did the killing game encourage us to sacrifice our classmates, but it also encouraged us to redouble our efforts to keep up the façade. If Hoshino-kun's words offended us, it was partly because that reality was so difficult to accept.

* * *

For dinner, I had Sugiura-san cook the same miso stew as two nights ago, and supervised her every step of the way.

"Don't mind me," I said, after a few minutes passed in silence.

"It's all right," Sugiura-san said. "In fact, don't take your eyes off me for a moment. That way, if something goes wrong, the two of us can vouch for each other."

"I understand," I said. "I may not know much about the recipe you're making, but I'll check it out if I see something out of place."

Sugiura-san nodded, then handed me a list of her ingredients, as well as a brief description of the steps involved.

"I jotted this down from my memory," Sugiura-san said. "It should be the same as last time, though."

I nodded as I looked over the sheet. Sugiura-san had placed most of the ingredients and utensils on the counter, so it was easy to count them and see that she had everything she needed.

"I see," I said. "I think you'll make a good dinner once again, Sugiura-san."

Sugiura-san chuckled.

"Don't expect too much out of me, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "If my dad thought I was any use as a cook, he'd have me in the kitchen. Still, if you're that easily impressed, watch closely- you might just learn something in the process."

Sugiura-san walked me through the various steps as she made the stew, and by the end of it, I'd learned enough to try to make it myself.

* * *

We then served dinner, and I ate my portion in front of everyone else- with the exception of Hoshino-kun and Kagami-kun. Kagami-kun "coincidentally" wasn't hungry, while Hoshino-kun was honest enough to admit that he didn't want to eat anything a known poisoner made.

Of course, some of the others were fairly cautious- I noticed Katsura-san, Inoue-kun and even Edogawa-san start eating only after I had finished.

Eventually, dinner ended, and a minute or so passed in silence. Finally, I stood up and addressed the others.

"I have a proposal for you all," I said. "Would it be all right with you Sugiura-san if cooks for us from time to time?"

The others paused and looked at one another. Tonight's dinner had gone well, but Mizuhara-kun's death was still firmly ingrained in our memories.

"I'm not against it," Katsura-san said, "but I think she should be supervised, just as she was tonight."

"If that's the case, then I should, too," Iwasawa-san said. "After all, you trusted me to cook for you all this time, didn't you?"

"She's right," Tezuka-kun said. "I get that Sugiura has a 'reputation,' but I don't think we'd be asking this question if Mitamura hadn't killed Mizuhara on Sugiura's first shift."

"True," Katsura-san said. "While I can't help but be a little on my guard, we should also recall one point that lessened the suspicion on Sugiura-san- everyone knew she was cooking the food, so she would have been too obvious of a suspect. As such, I'm in favor of allowing her to cook, as long as the cook is announced in advance- this also goes for Iwasawa-san, of course."

Four people abstained from voting- Katsura-san, Inoue-kun and the two who weren't at dinner. Everyone else voted "yes," so with a two-thirds majority, we agreed.

"Thank you," Sugiura-san said. "What happened to Mizuhara was tragic, but I appreciate being given a second chance to earn your trust.

We spent the rest of the meeting working out the schedule. The two would take turns cooking lunch and dinner- tomorrow, Iwasawa-san would cook dinner, while Sugiura-san cooked lunch- while Iwasawa-san continued to make breakfast every day. Perhaps it was too much to ask for unconditional trust under these circumstances, but for now, I was glad that we were willing to move past the issue of Sugiura-san's talent, and give her a chance to be a part of this group, not just another person trapped in these walls.

* * *

After dinner, while I helped Sugiura-san with the dishes in the kitchen, I saw Hoshino-kun and Kagami-kun stop by and open the fridge.

"Oh, Hoshino-kun, Kagami-kun," I said. "What brings you here?"

"Dinner, obviously," Hoshino-kun said, "preferably something that doesn't make me drop dead by the end of the night."

"Your stew's completely fine," Sugiura-san said. "Cold, but still fine."

"If you say so," Hoshino-kun said as he started rummaging around in the fridge. "You did lie about your talent, after all, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't believe that."

"Technically, she didn't lie, Hoshino-kun," Kagami-kun said. "She simply chose not to disclose that fact. Considering what being the Ultimate Poisoner has brought her, I can hardly blame her- things didn't turn out nearly as badly as they might have."

I imagined the worst-case scenario- the rest of us getting together and lynching Sugiura-san- and was grateful that it hadn't come to that. The cynic in me knew that no one wanted to be executed for killing Sugiura-san, while the idealist in me believed that we'd seen too much death to willingly kill one of our number again.

"You can say that again," Sugiura-san said, "but even if you sound like you're defending me, I notice you didn't touch your food either, Kagami."

"Well, I do also sympathize with Hoshino-kun's caution," Kagami-kun said. "He's simply taking into account the nature of our 'game.' The object of the game is to get away with murder, and all of us are players."

"That's true," I said, "but people are also innocent until proven guilty. When we suspected Sugiura-san of killing Mizuhara-kun, Mitamura-san, the true killer, was the one who benefited most."

Hoshino-kun, having taken a few odds and ends out of the fridge, nodded. While he didn't really get along with anyone else here, since he hadn't committed murder, we were on the same side in the first two trials. He wasn't about to apologize for suspecting Sugiura-san, but he probably realized that he'd let Mitamura-san lead him down the wrong track. Kagami-kun then took his turn, and browsed the fridge. After taking a few things and shutting the door, he turned to Sugiura-san.

"Anyway, Sugiura-san, I've been meaning to ask you something ever since the last trial," Kagami-kun said. "If you had a chance to wipe the slate clean, and start over without your reputation as the Ultimate Poisoner, would you do so?"

"In a heartbeat," Sugiura-san said, without hesitation.

Kagami-kun paused, at a loss for a moment, even though he should have expected this answer.

"I thought so," Kagami-kun said. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Kagami-kun and Hoshino-kun left the kitchen, carrying rice balls. After leaving the dining hall, they went their separate ways- perhaps they were united in their suspicion of Sugiura-san, but they didn't think of each other as friends.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Sugiura-san said. "Kagami started acting a bit weird after I answered his question."

"I can only guess," I said. "I talked with him this time last night, and he seemed to speculate what sort of talent he had before he lost his memory. Maybe someone- perhaps Kagami-kun himself, deliberately chose to wipe his memories."

"So in other words, someone chose to make him an ordinary high school student," Sugiura-san said. "I don't get why he'd erase his own talent- I'm not all that proud of being the Ultimate Waitress, but at least I'm good at something."

"I don't get it, either," I said. "An Ultimate talent isn't just your ticket in to this school or the basis of a future career, but also a part of who you are. Of course, maybe if he was ashamed of that, he'd erase his memories."

"Or ours," Sugiura-san said. "Still, if the mastermind is a skilled actor capable of constructing a persona, then it could even be Yuuki, since most of us wouldn't suspect someone like her."

"Good point," I said. "I suppose there's little we can do until we obtain some evidence."

We shared a few theories as to who might be the mastermind as we washed the dishes. Even though Sugiura-san had proven herself trustworthy for the moment, one of us, whether her or anyone else, was the mastermind, just like how every time we stepped into the courtroom, a murderer was among us. Perhaps the most disturbing part about the killing game was how it forced us to confront each other's dark secrets and realizes what we were capable of, but I chose to believe in my friends until I found any reason not to.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _They say to 'write who you know,' but for most people, that's some pretty awful advice._

 _If everyone did that, the market would be crowded with stories about salaryman Taro Yamada, his wife Ko, and his kids, one of whom eventually grows up to be a writer._

 _Of course, there are exceptions to every rule- namely, me._

 _Check out my work- a school story/murder mystery hybrid, with such characters as the supermodel who masterminds the apocalypse, her badass twin sister, the emotionless genius who's good at everything, and a (supposedly) wheelchair-bound sociopath and the little hellions who are her friends._

 _Don't delay, order my books today!_

* * *

 _Day 11_

Before breakfast, I found Inoue-kun sitting in the dining hall, drawing in a sketch pad, while Tezuka-kun looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, good morning, Inoue-kun, Tezuka-kun," I said. "What are you up to?"

"Morning, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "I'm teaching Inoue a little about drawing."

Inoue-kun showed me his drawing.

"Here's what I've been working on," Inoue-kun said. "Apparently, Tezuka-kun considers this halfway decent."

"...for a beginner," Tezuka-kun said. "Still, it's a hell of a lot better than what you started out with, so at least you're improving."

That was a somewhat backhanded compliment, but I hadn't seen Inoue-kun's previous work, so I didn't have anything I could say to that.

"It looks a lot better than anything I could do," I said. "I know that I'm a mere amateur when it comes to writing, but when it comes to art, I can only embarrass myself."

"You shouldn't think of it that way," Tezuka-kun said. "Sure, the majority of people are probably pretty crappy at art, but if they stick with it, most of them will probably get at least a little better, and maybe a few of them will actually become good artists with their own unique visions."

"That's true," I said. "You might be a good art teacher one day, Tezuka-kun."

"I dunno," Tezuka-kun said. "I can probably motivate people to stick with it and get better, but don't know how to teach them. My own art teachers just taught me how to hold a brush, use a chisel, and so on and so forth, not what to draw or sculpt."

"My language teachers did the same thing," Inoue-kun said. "We had some creative writing assignments in English, but my teachers generally wanted to teach us how to use the language well, and then leave it up to us what to do with it. I'd say Tezuka-kun's doing the same thing."

"Thanks," Tezuka-kun said. "At the very least, when I do criticize, I try to keep it at least a little constructive, unlike SOMEONE I know..."

Inoue-kun chuckled softly. He hadn't witnessed Tezuka-kun's conversation with Hoshino-kun, but he knew who Tezuka-kun had in mind.

"I'm glad for that," Inoue-kun said. "I'll be sure to show you my next piece, too."

As Inoue-kun made that promise, the other students came into the dining hall, and Inoue-kun had to put his art away to eat breakfast. Even though our discussion of possibly using the building plans to find a way out of here hit a snag- not only did no one know where to find the plans, but the front door and iron plates were clear proof that the building had been renovated- I was in a good mood. The old Inoue-kun probably would have concluded that he or Tezuka-kun would be dead by the time he finished his next work, so if nothing else, he'd started to accept the idea of working together and trusting on one another.

* * *

A few hours later, I found Fukuda-kun and Akasaka-san investigating the chemical lab.

"Oh hello," I said. "What are the two of you up to?"

"We're looking through the chemicals," Akasaka-san said, "trying to find out if any of them are ones we'd need, and which ones are too dangerous to keep around."

"Good thinking," I said. "Of course, you'd have to dispose of them safely."

"I know," Akasaka-san said. "It's a shame that my grades in Chemistry were so-so."

"Yeah, but you passed, didn't you?" Fukuda-kun said. "You're better off than me, at least. Sure, you don't have a very bright future as a scientist, but at least the teachers send you off to the next year without making you take supplementary lessons."

For a moment, I had to admit that if nothing else, I was somewhat comfortable. I had to work hard to get good grades, but my graduation was more or less a given, so my parents made reservations to eat out before my sister and I took our exams. Many of my classmates couldn't say the same.

"Speaking of careers," I said, "do you two have any idea what you were planning on doing?"

"I was thinking about becoming an office lady," Akasaka-san said, "at least until I settle down and get married."

"Good for you," Fukuda-kun said. "Me, I'm not nearly as close to figuring things out, since my folks expect me to get married _and_ be the breadwinner for my family. I'm almost glad to be stuck in here, since I don't have to think about my career."

I had to admit I hadn't thought about that, either. I assumed that if I got out, I'd go back to school and try to get my life back on track as much as I could.

"Your turn, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "What about you?"

"I was planning on getting an office job of some kind," I said. "It's not what I'd hoped for, but I'd always thought of it as the most realistic choice available to me given my abilities. I'd always thought that ordinary people had to make compromises and give up on their dreams, while the truly special- namely, the rest of you- could do what you wanted."

"That isn't necessarily true, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Being the Ultimate Checkers Player can impress many people, but it doesn't mean much by itself on a resume. That said, I do have to admit that some of my opponents undoubtedly wish they had my talent."

One time, when I was little, I took part in a checkers tournament at my local elementary school, spurred on by the overconfidence of youth, and what was probably my Beginner's Luck. Dad had let me do that as a lesson in how the world works- there are many people out there who are better than you, and that life often involves competing with others for what you need. He'd made a similar point when it came to writing, saying that the few who could make a living out it had outdone everyone else.

"I don't blame them," I said. "Anyway, it's been a bit of a surprise knowing that just because the Ultimates can practice their talent so easily, they have trouble with other things."

"That's true," Fukuda-kun said, "but of course, like Akasaka said, a lot of us have to realize that things don't come as easily to ordinary people. I guess the moral is that you just have to appreciate what you've got."

I thanked Fukuda-kun, then left with his words on my mind.

* * *

Just before dinner I went to the kitchen and saw Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san. The former was cooking while the latter watched her- not to make sure she didn't poison anything, but to appraise her work. The two waved to me, but seemed mostly caught up in their respective tasks, so I didn't really get a chance to join in.

"So, Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa-san said, "what do you think of my cooking, as someone who worked in a restaurant?"

Sugiura-san shrugged.

"It's hard to say," Sugiura-san said, "since I don't cook the food- I just bring it to the table. That said, most of the chefs there know a lot more recipes than you do, many of which are more complex. Unless you've got a pretty impressive resume, they won't even call you in for an interview."

Iwasawa-san nervously chuckled.

"I figured as much," Iwasawa-san said. "I don't have a resume set up, or even a suit, so I wouldn't do well in an interview."

"I'm sure Katsura would be able to give you a few pointers," Sugiura-san said. "Maybe not enough for you to be able to fake your way into the kitchen of a fancy restaurant, but enough that you'd probably stand a chance against those with your level of qualifications."

"In other words, people from a farming village who don't have many marketable skills," Iwasawa-san said. "Let's be honest- the only reason I cook is because I knew a few recipes and decided to volunteer."

"I won't deny that," Sugiura-san said, "but like I said, the level of competition is most important. Your cooking's probably mediocre at best in the grand scheme of things, and mine isn't much better, but we're the best cooks this class has, and we have to do the best we can."

Iwawsawa-san nodded, then Sugiura-san turned directly to me.

"There's a lesson in this for you, too, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "You probably haven't taken on many leadership activities in the past, much less any in which there's lives on the line, so I don't think you're a good choice for leader. That said, you're our _best_ choice, so don't let us down."

I nodded.

"I get what you're trying to say, Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa-san said, "but please don't put too much pressure on Miss Miura."

"It's all right, Iwasawa-san," I said. "It's fine for Sugiura-san to remind me of the gravity of our situation, and I understand that she's bitter about... what happened before."

Sugiura-san's expression turned a bit pained.

"I suppose it sounds selfish of me to judge you while I'm not doing anything to help," Sugiura-san said, "but if I thought I was a better leader than you or Mitamura, I would've stepped forward. If that changes, you'll be the first to know."

I nodded.

"If there's anyone more qualified to lead, I'll gladly step aside," I said. "I'm not doing it for fun, personal fulfillment, or the desire for others' respect, but simply to keep as many of you alive as possible."

"Miss Miura's right," Iwasawa-san said. "I still feel out of place at a school in the big city, but none of us were prepared to have to deal with this. Miss Miura's just trying to do something about it, just like Miss Mitamura did."

"I know," Sugiura-san said. "I doubt anyone would believe me if I claimed innocence in the case that got me my 'other' title, but if getting along with the group makes things easier for Miura- for everyone- then that's what I'll do."

I smiled and thanked Sugiura-san, bowing in gratitude. Our group couldn't succeed by virtue of one person's leadership, but with everyone helping out and working together, often doing the small things that aren't always appreciated. It was a tall order, but if nothing else, I was glad to be able to count on Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san.

* * *

In the evening, I went up to the vending machine to buy a snack for Edogawa-san. I saw her there, talking with Yuuki-san.

"Hello, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said.

"Hey there, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said.

"Good evening, you two," I said. "Do you mind if I ask what you were discussing?"

"Sae-chan and I were talking about the school's admission policy," Yuuki-san said. "I said I thought it was a trap of some kind to get us all here, but Sae-chan said this was a real school, since it goes back some ways. We're only the 33rd class, but it's not as though this is totally new"

"That may be true, Yuuki-san," Edogawa-san said, "but I still appreciate your sharing your theory. At this point, there is very little we know for certain, so it would be unwise to prematurely rule out any possibilities."

"Me too," I said. "I suppose it's natural that some people would think Talent High School was too good to be true."

"Yeah," Yuuki-san said. "I mean, I kind of get why all the really good schools are tough to get into- everyone wants to get into them, so they get to pick the best students, don't they?"

"That's about it," I said. "My dad said there are dozens, or even hundreds, of applicants for jobs at his company. As a result, virtually everyone who's hired works out well."

Yuuki-san seemed a little sad. Perhaps having so much competition for jobs was good for the company, but it was little comfort to those who didn't get hired, some of whom would have been a good fit, and all of whom would need to look elsewhere for a way to work for a living.

"Here's the thing," Yuuki-san said. "People like me, Daichi-kun, Akito-kun, and probably most of us here couldn't get into one of those top schools, but we could get in here, right? They say they want to study our talent, but it's a bit odd that they don't want better grades."

"Maybe it goes to show that talent isn't just in the classroom," I said. "For example, Iwasawa-san's being a farmer doesn't tie into any subject, but it is a valuable skill, and they want to understand how she got so good at it."

"Gotcha," Yuuki-san said. "I guess it just seems kind of random from the perspective of people like me, who just get letters telling us whether we got in or not. I mean, this way you could probably let your relatives come to your super-elite school, and no one'd know the difference, right?"

"At least until the students in question fail to make the grade," I said. "My dad says that if you admit students or hire employees that don't qualify on the basis of merit, it'll catch up to you sooner or later."

"Quite true," Edogawa-san said. "Of course, talent isn't as easy to rank objectively as one's grades. Tezuka-kun is an accomplished artist, but is he truly the best in his age group?"

I shrugged, and thought about Tezuka-kun's conversation with Hoshino-kun. Tezuka-kun hadn't put much stock in Hoshino-kun's opinion, but didn't say that the people who'd evaluated his work were necessarily infallible, either.

"I don't know about that," I said, "but he never claimed to be. The talent scout who recruited me had been to quite a few mahjong tournaments, and analyzed the results of many others. The fact that I'd never really played before might have been what convinced them to bring me in for an interview, but it's not as though they picked some mahjong champion, named them Ultimate Mahjong Player and called it a day. They probably wouldn't even have done a follow-up test of my talent if that was the case."

As Edogawa-san remained silent, unable to think of a rebuttal, Yuuki-san sighed.

"I guess we can't prove anything that way," Yuuki-san said. "I was kind of hoping we'd find out who the mastermind is by figuring out who isn't supposed to be here. My theory was that Sousuke-kun lied about having a talent or something, but I can't prove it."

"Who knows?" I said. "Still, Yuuki-san, if you think of anything that might help, please share it with us, and if you have a question, feel free to ask."

"Roger that!" Yuuki-san said, doing a friendly salute.

As far as mysteries went, finding the mastermind was on an entirely different level than finding the blackened. The killers had left evidence around the crime scenes, and had made mistakes that exposed their guilt, but the mastermind remained incognito, a tree hiding in a forest. If there was some sort of evidence as to their identity, it most likely lay in the memories we'd lost, in some currently inaccessible part of the school or dorms, or somewhere only the mastermind could reach. Little was certain besides the fact that more murders would occur before we got anywhere close to finding a clue, but I remained determined not to allow that to happen to those who'd trusted me to lead them, and those I considered my friends.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

While Danganronpa often deconstructs the idea of having an Ultimate Talent, I decided to take a different approach to it. The games show that the Ultimates aren't necessarily better than the ordinary students, and I did choose a lot of students whose talents were largely irrelevant to the killing game, but at the same time, they've achieved many things that would make many adults jealous, and often succeed in highly competitive fields(especially writing, sports and music). Most of the cast, with some notable exceptions, are genuinely passionate about and proud of their talents. Perhaps the Ultimates aren't without their shortcomings (Kaori's probably smarter than most of the cast), but the grass is always greener on the other side, and you can hardly blame those who enjoy something but aren't all that good at it for wanting to be Ultimate-caliber.

It's also somewhat unfortunate that, given the nature of the game, the cast doesn't make any real progress in figuring out the mastermind until the last chapter, since most of the vital clues toward the mastermind's identity are hidden.

Next up is the motive for this Chapter. Updates may be less frequent from this point on, since I'm finding less time to write.

* * *

 _Omake_

In my first year of high school, I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the piece of paper that asked me to list possible career choices, the hardest short answer question of my life. My teacher said that it was by no means our final decision, and the counselors would help us make sense of our options. He meant what he said, but some questions don't get any easier just because you have a lot of time to think about them

As I was pondering what would be the best way for me to earn a living, as well as the best way to spend most of my waking hours for the rest of my life, Dad walked up to me.

"Need any help with your homework, Kaori?" Dad said.

"Actually, Dad, this is the career survey sheet," I said. "I'm having trouble coming up with a career goal... or at least a _realistic_ one."

Dad nodded. I hadn't completely intended the subtext in that statement, but it came through anyway.

"I understand," Dad said. "I know how much you like writing, and that it can be difficult to write off your dreams as unattainable. To be honest, I don't work at this job because I like it- it's solely about the money."

I chuckled. While I did owe my parents my respect, I had to admit that after over a decade and a half of growing up under them, we were significantly more comfortable around each other than most other people, so we were free to say what was really on our minds.

"Wow, that was blunt," I said.

"I'm only saying what everyone in the company really thinks," Dad said. "No matter what the company's mission statement says, it's all about making money, and everyone who works for it- your mother and I included- simply wants a piece of the pie."

"Good analogy," I said. "You do have to eat to live, after all."

"Quite true," Dad said, "and because of that, there's nothing wrong with working solely for the money, as long as it's about fulling your needs. My work helps support myself, my wife and my daughters, puts you and your sister through school, and will allow me to leave money to provide for my loved ones after I'm gone. Because of that, all Mei and I want is for you and Misaki to be able to support yourselves in adulthood, so that we know you will be fine on your own."

"I know," I said. "I suppose I could live with that."

"It won't be easy, though," Dad said. "You'll need to keep your grades up, work hard, get into a good school, make a good case for yourself in the job search, and then do a good job once you're actually hired. It's hard work, but so is everything else that's worth doing."

"Got it," I said. "I think I've actually got things figured out for now."

"Good to hear it, Kaori," Dad said. "Your mother and I are always there if you need advice."

I then wrote "Business" down as my first choice, the first step on a journey of a thousand miles. Perhaps my final destination wouldn't be where I hoped to end up, but most people could only hope to get what they needed, not what they wanted. I then resolved to come to terms with that and life's other disappointments... at least before the recruiter from Talent High School showed up and changed everything.


	13. Chapter III, Part 3

_Day 12_

At breakfast, we discussed more possible ways to escape, none of which seemed at all viable. Tezuka-kun's idea of melting the plates on the window with some kind of acid was ruled out as being too risky, while Yuuki-san's proposal to somehow cut the power to the door would have most likely removed our only way of getting it open. While it was clear that we were getting nowhere on this end, at least no one was seriously contemplating the other ways of getting out of here.

Just as breakfast was about to end, the announcement system came to life.

"Attention, all students," Monokuma said. "Please come to the gallery on the third floor at your earliest convenience. Attendance isn't strictly mandatory, but anyone who doesn't come will miss out on some big news. See you there!"

Monokuma then ended his announcement.

"That's a motive, isn't it?" Hoshino-kun said.

"It seems so," I said. "While it's unwise to simply do as Monokuma says, someone will probably stop by sooner or later. We may as well learn about what we're dealing with, and make sure we're all on the same page."

"In other words, we're playing Monokuma's game anyway," Hoshino-kun said. "I guess it's fine, as long as you understand that."

The killing game was relatively fair when we thought of it as all of us against one another, but it was entirely another story when we thought of it as us against him. He was able to change the rules, introduce new items into play and even execute us for any- or no- reason, so the only reason we weren't dead was because it was more amusing for him to watch us kill each other.

For now, all we could do was simply do as he said, and find out what we were dealing with. If the last motive was any precedent, there'd probably be a murder in the next few days, but if anything could be done to help keep my classmates safe, then I'd spare no effort to do so.

* * *

The twelve of us headed to the gallery after finishing breakfast, and saw Monokuma waiting for us.

"Looks like everyone's here," Monokuma said. "As you all know, it's been a couple days since the last murder, so feast your eyes on the newest incentive to get you bastards to do your part in this killing game."

Monokuma directed our attention to the glass case Tezuka-kun had showed me when I first visited the gallery, the one that had been empty at the time. In the center was a semiautomatic handgun.

"This here's a little gift to help you with killing each other," Monokuma said. "It's got one shot, so don't miss. Still, considering Japan's gun control laws, I'm sure a lot of you would kill to get your hands on this, if you know what I mean!"

"You're just leaving something that dangerous out in the open?" Edogawa-san said. "I know there's no shortage of possible murder weapons in this school, but a gun is on an entirely different level."

I nodded in agreement as a chill went down my spine. Considering Sakuragi-kun had killed Kurogane-kun with a hammer, and Mitamura-san had killed Mizuhara-kun with peanuts, of all things, the last thing would-be murderers needed was a more efficient weapon. You didn't need imagination or cunning to kill with a gun- just a steady grip and good hand-eye coordination.

"It's not _completely_ out in the open," Monokuma said, "because you've got to open the case first. You do that by scanning your handbook on the panel, which opens up the case. Anyone with a handbook can do it, as long as they don't mind the drawback- once it's opened, the display shows the picture of the person whose handbook unlocked it."

"And what if we try to break the glass?" Yuuki-san said. "How'll you know who did it?"

"The security cameras, of course!" Monokuma said. "If someone breaks the glass, the cameras will catch the perp, and their face will show up on the display case, just like if they'd swiped their handbook."

"But that isn't necessarily the same person as the one who took the gun, right?" Fukuda-kun said.

"Maybe not," Monokuma said. "Still, as long as the gun gets used, I'm perfectly fine with that. If the gun's used to kill someone, finding out whodunnit's your problem."

In other words, it was possible for one person to open the case and give the gun to another. Of course, while it was certainly possible, I don't think any of us trusted anyone else enough to let them have the gun, since the giver would be considered the first suspect if the recipient used the gun to kill someone. I then realized that perhaps some people would be counting on that, and might use someone else's handbook to obtain the gun.

"I have a question," Katsura-san said. "Would it be possible to open the case with one of the dead students' handbooks?"

"Probably," Monokuma said, "but I put Kurogane-kun, Sakuragi-kun, Mizuhara-kun and Mitamura-san's handbooks somewhere none of you bastards can get. I'm all for thinking outside the box, but being able to use one of the dead students' handbooks would make things too easy. If you want the gun that badly, you're gonna have to open the case with your own handbook, or get someone else to do it for you."

Monokuma's answer was a slight relief. While there was a risk of someone stealing another person's handbook, at the very least, people wouldn't willingly loan their handbooks to anyone else.

"If there aren't any more questions, I'm outta here," Monokuma said. "I'm eager to find out which one of you's gonna fire the shot heard 'round the school."

Monokuma then vanished once again.

"So, any ideas on how to deal with this?" Fukuda-kun said.

"Only one bullet, huh?" I said. "Please leave the room, everyone. I have a plan."

The rest of the class left the room in an orderly fashion and walked out into the hall. I then took out my notepad, and swiped it, causing my picture to appear. I checked the time stamp, and noticed that the time- approximately 7:55 AM- matched my watch.

I then took the gun in my hands, pointed it at the back wall, and turned the safety off. The others stood in the hall, silent and nervous, but no one said anything. Perhaps they trusted me, or at least didn't think I was stupid enough to commit a murder with everyone else was the case, they were right- I wasn't planning on killing anyone.

After tightening my grip and steadying my aim to make sure the bullet didn't hit me if it ricocheted off the wall, I pulled the trigger. The gun made a deafening boom when it fired, and I could feel the gun's recoil. In the time it took for the sound to reach my ears, the bullet flew through the air, coming to rest in the wall.

I then pulled the trigger again, resulting in the gun clicking.

"Well, it looks like Monokuma was telling the truth," I said. "The gun only had one bullet, and now, it's harmless. You all can come back in now."

As the students filed back into the room, several people let out sighs of relief, but Hoshino-kun still looked a bit tense. This problem seemed a bit too easy to solve, but I hoped this was just my imagination.

Within a minute, Monokuma appeared again, carrying a special handbook in one paw and a second gun in the other.

"Well, aren't you clever, Miura-san?" Monokuma said. "I have to admit that I didn't expect you to think outside the box like that. Good thing I came prepared."

Monokuma then took out a special handbook and swiped it, causing the display case to reset. He then placed the gun inside and shut it, before snatching the now empty gun out of my hands more quickly than I thought possible. It was probably for the best that I was too surprised to keep the gun away from him- if I'd tried, I'd probably have lost my right hand along with the gun.

"Just so we're clear, my plan is for you bastards to use the gun to _kill_ someone," Monokuma said "If you don't shoot someone within four hours of being taken out of the case, I'll take it back and put a new one in the case."

I sighed as my backup plan went down the drain. It would have been difficult to ask people to let me keep the gun in my room, but it was completely impossible now. Even if Monokuma hadn't specifically said "kill," non-fatal gunshot wounds were difficult enough to treat, even for trained medical professionals. The only other way to fulfill the gun's purpose without causing a murder was too terrible to even contemplate.

"You look pretty disappointed, Miura-san," Monokuma said.

"I wonder why," I said. "Maybe it could be because my plan to keep people from killing each other didn't work out."

"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma said. "This killing game requires all of you to participate, so you can't just take your ball and go home. On that note, let the games resume!"

Monokuma then vanished once again, leaving me at a loss for a moment.

"Ok, any other bright ideas?" Hoshino-kun said, exasperated.

"When Monokuma said 'kill someone,' he didn't necessarily mean _someone_ _else_ ," Sugiura-san said. "One of us could take the gun, point it at our own heads, and-"

"No," I said. "Our goal here is to prevent any more deaths, and that includes suicides. I don't want to see the gun used on _anyone,_ period."

Sugiura-san said nothing, unwilling to argue further even if she didn't necessarily agree with me. While I usually considered interrupting to be quite rude, I personally believed I needed to take as firm a stance as possible when it came to her proposal.

"Miss Miura's right," Iwasawa-san said. "Besides, my religion teaches that anyone who commits suicide will go to Hell, so I don't want to see that happen."

"Depending on who you ask, that also goes for anyone who doesn't buy into the teachings of a guy who died 2,000 years ago," Hoshino-kun said. "Hell, it might also go for some people whose interpretation of that guy's teachings is just a little bit off."

Iwasawa-san looked a bit uncomfortable, whether because of Hoshino-kun's usual attitude, or because of the point he was making. The idea that she'd be the only one going to Heaven would be a depressing one for Iwasawa-san, but since Iwasawa-san hadn't made any attempt to proselytize her classmates, she didn't seem to accept that idea.

"Leaving aside the issue of religion," I said, "the fact is that I don't want to see any more of you die, much less kill yourselves. I assume most of you feel similarly, don't you?"

"We do," Kagami-kun said, "although the mastermind probably disagrees."

Everyone else nodded. While I knew that the mastermind was one of the people I'd sworn to protect, I wanted to keep everyone alive, including that person. I wasn't sure what sort of punishment would fit the mastermind's crimes, but had no desire to see them executed or slain in a vigilante murder... even without taking into account how the latter could potentially result in an innocent person dying by mistake.

"Anyway," I said, trying to get the discussion back on topic, "since we can't just waste the bullet, the only other solution is to make sure the gun never gets used. I'd like to propose keeping watch over the case, to ensure that no one ever opens it."

Murmurs of agreement went up. No one was completely happy with this solution, since it resulted in us having one more thing to worry about for an indefinite period of time, but as things stood, it seemed like we saw it as the most viable solution to our problem... or at least most of us did. Hoshino-kun stood there, waiting for a moment of quiet, then finally spoke.

"How long are we going to do this?" Hoshino-kun said. "Until we escape? Until someone snaps and commits a murder? Or maybe for the rest of our lives?"

"As long as we need to, Hoshino-kun," I said. "We have a threat to our safety, and it's up to us to keep it contained."

"If you say so," Hoshino-kun said. "It took less than three days for someone to commit the first murder, and about three days after Monokuma gave out the motive for the second one to happen. Want to make a bet that someone'll get killed in the next three days?"

I shook my head. If someone committed murder, I'd have more pressing concerns than Hoshino-kun telling me "I told you so," assuming that he wasn't the victim.

"I'll pass," I said. "I'm not the betting sort, and I realize that this method may not prevent a murder, but I still think it's better than just sitting around until we find a dead body with a gunshot wound."

"I can't deny what Mr. Hoshino's saying," Iwawsawa-san said, "but I agree with Miss Miura that something has to be done about this."

"That's right," Edogawa-san said. "My father believes prevention is the best medicine when it comes to fighting crime. He doesn't know of a solution, but believes he can help prove that anyone who breaks the law will be caught and punished."

The group shared a solemn moment in silence, knowing full well what Edogawa-san meant.

"All right," I said. "We will now hold a vote about my proposal. Please vote 'Aye,' if you want to keep the case under guard, and 'Nay' if you believe we should find another solution.

Everyone voted "Aye," and Hoshino grudgingly followed suit. In the end, even if he had his doubts, preventing a murder was in his best interests as much as it was in the rest of ours, and I didn't hear him offering any other solutions.

"Now let's work out the schedule," I said. "Since there's twelve of us, and I'd like everyone to participate, I'd give each person a two-hour shift, but there's the risk of the guard opening up the case and getting the gun while no one else is watching. Therefore, I'd propose two-person shifts, so that the people on duty can keep an eye on each other, as well as the gun."

"How would shift changes be handled?" Katsura-san said. "It wouldn't work if the people on duty have to get the other person."

"The person reporting to duty will come and announce to the person that they've been relieved," I said. "If A and B are on duty and C is replacing A, C will come and tell A that their shift is over, allowing A to leave their post and C to take over. Two hours later, Person D will come to replace Person B, and so on and so forth. If the replacement can't make it, you may need to cover for the next person on the list."

"Only one person's being replaced?" Katsura-san said.

"I was thinking we'd switch in a new person every two hours, rather than both people every four hours," I said. "For example, at noon, A and B would be on guard, while C would replace A at 2 PM, D would replace B at 4 PM, E would replace C at 6 PM, and so on and so forth."

"So some people will be out during Night Time," Iwasawa-san said.

I nodded. The gallery wasn't off limits during Night Time, which meant that the gun was still accessible at night, but also that we could watch over it without breaking Monokuma's rules.

"That's right," I said. "If your shift ends during Night Time, it would be best if you head straight back once you're done. Of course, Iwasawa-san, it's fine if you want to wake up early, since you're making breakfast."

"Speaking of breakfast, what about the meeting?" Edogawa-san said.

"Which part? " I said. "The food or the discussion?"

"Both," Edogawa-san said. "Now that two of us will be in the gallery at all times, it won't be as easy to get everyone in one room."

"Let's see..." I said. "Food's fairly simple- those leaving before breakfast can eat a little early, and take some snacks with them while they're on duty. As for the meeting, we could convene up here if we have a vote. Starting tomorrow, let's meet up here at 3 PM every day for as long as we're guarding the case. Does this time work with everyone?"

"What do you think?" Tezuka-kun said. "My schedule's been totally clear since we got in here."

I sadly nodded. Our previous lives as students kept us quite busy, from class and homework to extracurriculars and socializing. While that was exhausting, it also gave our lives meaning, so we wouldn't give it up even if we could. Now that we were trapped in a school and forced to kill each other, working toward finding a way out was the only thing that kept us sane.

"Who's in charge of the schedule?" Sugiura-san said.

"I can do it," Katsura-san said. "I will write out the schedule, and, if any changes need to be made, inform others of the revisions."

"I'm counting on you, Katsura-san," I said. "Now, while everyone's here, let's get the schedule set up."

We then assigned shifts. For the most part, there weren't any problems, as no one had particularly strong preferences when it came to time slots, although we occasionally had to do rock-paper-scissors to decide who got which one. People were more reluctant to take on the night time shifts, since they interfered with our sleep, so I ended up volunteering for the 8 PM to midnight slot- potentially the most dangerous one, since possible killers would strike around the time everyone went to bed. Edogawa-san immediately volunteered to take the 6 PM to 10 PM slot, much to my delight. Inoue-kun then chose 10 PM to 2 AM.

Other people made choices according to their preferences. Iwasawa-san was an early riser, but she also had to make breakfast, so she chose 8 AM to noon. Yuuki-san, desperate to be of assistance in some way, chose the fairly undesirable 4 AM to 8 AM slot, while Akasaka-san chose 6 AM to 10 AM. Most of the morning and afternoon slots filled up fairly quickly, and some of them had to be decided with rock-paper-scissors. Eventually, only two slots were left- midnight to 4 AM and 2 AM to 6 AM- and Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san filled those respective slots. Everything seemed to have worked out... until I realized what that meant.

"There... might be a problem," Katsura-san said. "I see that Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san are together from 2 AM to 4 AM."

Katsura-san had a knack for making understatements. While most of us were at least polite to each other, I couldn't recall a time when Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san had spoken to each other without open hostility.

"Quite true," I said. "I have to ask you two- do you think you can work together, or should I find someone else to cover your shift?"

"I'm fine with that," Hoshino-kun said. "Not even Sugiura's stupid enough to kill me when everyone knows we're alone in the same room. Besides, it's not like she's going to be feeding me anything."

"I'm not exactly happy, either, but I can live with this," Sugiura-san said. "As long as Hoshino keeps his mouth shut, it'll go just fine. I feel bad for Inoue, though."

I let off a sigh of relief. While the killing game wasn't conducive to forming friendships, most of us could at least tolerate each other. Perhaps if we escaped, most of us would go our separate ways, just like what would have happened if we'd graduated, but if we could at least get along, then we just might stand a chance at escape.

"I see," I said. "If you'd like a different shift, please speak with the person you'll be swapping shifts with, then speak to Katsura-san to get the change made to the schedule. Katsura-san, if two people get a shift change, please inform everyone else, especially their respective partners."

"Yes, ma'am," Katsura-san said, a reflexive response to the first direct order I'd given her. Since we had more important matters to discuss, I didn't bother correcting her.

We spent a few minutes working out some of the details. Without access to a computer or photocopier, we decided to have Katsura-san write up three copies of the schedule- she would keep one for herself, give the second to me and post the third in the gallery for everyone's reference.

Even after the plan was finalized, and even though everyone else agreed with it, I still felt a bit uneasy. It was the best solution I could think of on short notice, but there were any number of ways it could go wrong, and it was forestalling the inevitable. With that in mind, I knew I had to think of something else, even if I couldn't do so by myself.

* * *

Shortly after Akasaka-san and Iwasawa-san got started at their first shift, the others left to continue their investigation. Since none of us had any real need to use the gallery, I asked that no one go in there unless they were on duty, were reporting for duty, were attending the meeting or had important business with one of the guards.

As Hoshino-kun was leaving, I pulled him aside to talk with him in one of the classrooms on the third floor. He didn't need anyone's permission to share his opinions, but since he was so insistent on sharing them, I believed I could make use of him as an advisor. If nothing else, I had no desire to exclude anyone from our class, even the more cynical and individualistic members.

"You need something, Miura?" Hoshino-kun said.

"I've been thinking about what you said, Hoshino-kun," I said. "I acknowledge that guarding the display case is merely a temporary solution to our problems, a means of buying time. As such, I intend to use that time to think of a way to get out, so I was wondering- do you have any ideas?"

Hoshino-kun paused, seemingly surprised that someone actually wanted his opinion. He didn't seem to care whether he had our permission, but he'd never expected us to give it to him.

"Well, apart from killing someone, there's only two solutions, aren't there?" Hoshino-kun said. "Find the mastermind, or find some way to get the front doors open, and we all know how well the latter's working out."

"True," I said. "Do you have any idea who the mastermind could be?"

Hoshino-kun shrugged casually, looking a bit annoyed that I expected him to know.

"Hell if I know," Hoshino-kun said. "Kagami's pretty mysterious and aloof, while Sugiura's killed someone before, but you never know. Considering that Mitamura killed Mizuhara, maybe it's one of the goody-two-shoes, and considering that they're hiding their true nature, maybe Yuuki's just faking being an airhead. Hell, even you're a suspect."

"Fair enough," I said. "Since my efforts for the good of our class could be construed as ways to throw suspicion off me, I suppose there isn't any way to prove I'm not the mastermind, am I?"

"Nope," Hoshino-kun said. "Usually, a killer leaves behind some evidence, or at least something to rule some of us out, but there's nothing that says who the mastermind is. Hell, at least with a murder, a crime scene's as good a place as any to start, and we don't have anything like that here."

I nodded grimly. Hoshino-kun's latest harsh but true point happened to be something I'd known for a while myself. From time to time, I'd wondered who the mastermind was, but didn't know where to begin.

"That's the problem," I said. "We have possible reasons to suspect certain people, but don't even have any clues. Killing the mastermind may get us out of here, but, if we're wrong, then an innocent person will die, another will be executed and more murders will take place. If it was just up to me, I'd risk my life to end the killing game, but I don't want anyone else to suffer because of my mistakes."

"Gotcha," Hoshino-kun said. "I'd probably do the same in your situation, since I'd rather not risk my life on a really small chance of getting the mastermind. This 'game' is only really fair when you think about it as pitting us against each other. When it's us against the mastermind, the house always wins, as the saying goes."

"True," I said. "Still, Monokuma might oversee this twisted games, but even if he enforces the rules, he's also bound by them to a certain extent. Maybe it's because he wants to make sure we're the ones killing each other, or it's so that he can't turn on and kill the mastermind, but he isn't completely arbitrary."

"If you say so,' Hoshino-kun said. "I guess the best way for the mastermind to hide their identity is to make it seem like they're playing by the same rules as the rest of us, including being executed if the blackened gets away. Maybe they solve the mysteries so that won't happen to them."

Hoshino-kun gave me a piercing stare as he said this, as if to drive his point home.

"Maybe," I said. "Or maybe they'd rather avoid doing something that suspicious, and would prefer to stay in the background, and be relatively inconspicuous."

"So it's one of the useless students, huh?" Hoshino-kun said. "That really narrows it down a lot, since after almost two weeks, we don't have one good idea out of all our discussions of how to escape."

Apart from his sarcasm, Hoshino-kun seemed more disappointed than anything. He probably had his reasons to suspect me as the mastermind, but it seemed more like he wanted to believe it was me, so that it would be the obvious choice.

"I know we haven't made any progress," I said, "but at the same time, I do believe that we need everyone to help out, which is why I'm going to you."

"Well, don't get too excited," Hoshino-kun said. "I might have my doubts about us working together, but it's not like I'm deliberately slacking off. If I did have an idea I knew would work, you'd know it in a heartbeat."

"I hadn't expected you to be so humble," I said.

"Think of it as the truth," Hoshino-kun said. "I'm not any better than the rest of you- just more honest. I mean, would Monokuma have put any of us here if we weren't the kind who'd kill each other?"

"I don't think so," I said, "but I do suspect that part of the point is that otherwise decent people can do terrible things given the right reasons and circumstances. That would explain why Monokuma or the mastermind chose promising high school students rather than, say, death row inmates."

"If you say so," Hoshino-kun said. "In my experience, most of us are bad people pretending to be good people, and the mastermind is probably the best at pretending. Good luck finding out which one of us is that person... you're going to need it."

I thanked Hoshino-kun and left him, with a lot on my mind. Even after Mitamura-san had confessed to her wrongdoing- from academic dishonesty to murder- and been executed, it was still difficult to accept that in at least one of my classmates' cases, everything I knew about them was nothing more than a lie to prevent me from uncovering their true nature. Still, my experiences here had taught me that liars almost inevitably slipped up and exposed themselves, so I decided to speak with the remaining students whenever I could, in hopes of finding a clue pointing to the mastermind's identity.

* * *

At 10 AM, I stopped by the gallery, and saw that Kagami-kun had replaced Akasaka-san. Katsura-san's schedule was posted on the wall, and while anyone could potentially vandalize the schedule in order to deceive people, they'd be hard-pressed to do so with the guards watching. Furthermore, even if that happened, Katsura-san and I could consult our schedules, which were in our rooms, and correct that schedule accordingly. There was also a duck-shaped training potty in the back corner of the room, a last resort in case anyone desperately had to "go" on duty. I appreciated the thought, but wondered if there was a better option available.

"Ah, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "What brings you here?"

"I'm just checking on you," I said. "I'm pleased to see that the first shift change was successful and nothing else seems wrong."

"To be honest, I wouldn't expect anything to happen just yet," Kagami-kun said. "I doubt anyone would be reckless enough to cause trouble at this time of the day, just after you set up the system."

I saw Fukuda-kun taking a walk through the third floor. His shift wasn't until 2 PM- he'd spend the first half with Tezuka-kun and the second half with Katsura-san- so he was probably just checking out the floor, rather than waiting to report to his shift. If someone opened up the case and fired the gun, the sound of the gunshot would probably cause people to come running and discover the killer. The difference between day and night wasn't as noticeable here as it was in our normal lives, but I did feel safer during the day, when more people were around.

"That's part of the point," I said. "Of course, I do notice that you often agree with Hoshino-kun about things like this."

"Well, it's just common sense," Kagami-kun said. "The surest way to prevent someone from breaking the law is the assurance that they'll be caught and punished. You obviously think twice about committing murder if it means you'll get executed, after all."

"I agree," I said, "assuming, of course, you don't think you're too clever to get caught."

Kagami-kun nervously chuckled, while Iwasawa-san looked pained.

"I do agree that bad decisions should have consequences," Iwasawa-san said, "but I also believe in giving second chances. The law requires criminals to be punished, but the Lord believes we should forgive sinners."

"Ah yes," Kagami-kun said, "the principle of 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,' if I'm not mistaken. I recall that you voted for Mitamura-san and Sakuragi-kun too, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Iwasawa-san said, "so when I said my prayers before bed, I asked for forgiveness for my sins, as well as those of the blackened. Because I know I've made mistakes, I don't think of myself as better than anyone else."

"Neither do I," I said. "Whatever we might have done in the past two years, or even before that, I don't think any of us deserves to be trapped in here."

"You could be right," Kagami-kun said, "assuming it's a question about what we deserve in the first place."

Since the conversation was once again getting onto speculation about things we knew little about, I then decided to change the subject.

"By the way, Iwasawa-san," I said, "how are you finding your first shift on guard duty?"

"It's going well," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Akasaka and I get along well, and spent the last two hours talking about our childhoods- she was curious about what it's like to be an only child on a farm, and I was curious about having siblings in the big city."

"That's nice," I said. "I'm glad you two are getting along."

"Me too," Iwasawa-san said. "We decided it'd be awkward just standing there in silence, so we decided to keep talking to stay focused and get to know each other a little better."

"As long as you keep your eyes on the door and the display case, that's fine," I said. "I'll let you get back to work now."

I left the room, and took a look around the floor, but when I passed by the gallery once again, I couldn't hear any talking. Maybe Iwasawa-san had an easier time talking with the fairly cheerful and affable Akasaka-san, or maybe she didn't know where to begin with the fairly enigmatic Kagami-kun, but for whatever reason, she didn't click as easily with her partner for the latter half of her shift.

* * *

On my way back to the dorms, I saw Akasaka-san playing checkers in the rec room with Katsura-san. Katsura-san's shift wasn't until 4 PM, so they had plenty of time.

"Ah, Miura-san, it's good to see you," Akasaka-san said. "Komaki-chan was hoping to talk with you."

"What do you want to talk about" I said.

Katsura-san took a deep breath and cleared her throat, as the two stopped their game for the moment- it was Katsura-san's turn, and she was probably a few moves away from defeat.

"I have a confession to make," Katsura-san said. "When Sugiura-san suggested that one of us shoot ourselves with the gun, a part of me thought about seconding that proposal... and, er, offering to be the 'volunteer.' After all, if one of us shot ourselves, we'd only have one suicide, rather than a murder and an execution, thus reducing the death toll."

I went quiet for a moment, carefully considering what Katsura-san had said. I'd already made my position clear, so Katsura-san didn't need me to reiterate how much I didn't want this to happen.

"You never mentioned this at the meeting," I said. "Why is that?"

"It's simple," Katsura-san said. "I got scared- of the idea of dying so young, of a bullet to the head not killing me immediately, and of how my family would react to my death, and couldn't bring myself to do it. If I'd argued in favor of it, I could at least have helped us seriously discuss it, even if I was too much of a coward to sacrifice myself."

"That's only human, Katsura-san," I said. "None of us want to die, which is why I hope that everyone who's still alive can escape."

"I agree with Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Besides, Komaki-chan, even if there's a way to ensure that only one person dies, each of our lives is a precious thing. Your family, your friends, your classmates, and I, would be upset if you died. Even if you believe it's necessary to give your life for the sake of others, please think of the pain that your death would cause those who care about you."

Katsura-san nodded. She probably wasn't the only person besides Sugiura-san who'd considered making a sacrifice to prevent a murder, but at the very least, she seemed to accept our points.

"Thank you, Miura-san, Kuro-chan," Katsura-san said. "This is the last time I will talk about giving my life."

We smiled approvingly, but noticed that while Katsura-san seemed to feel a bit better, there was still something on her mind. After a moment, she spoke.

"Still, Kuro-chan, I have a question," Katsura-san said. "Would you have reacted as strongly to Sugiura-san's proposal?"

Akasaka-san shook her head, knowing full well what Katsura-san was getting at.

"Probably not," Akasaka-san said. "I consider you a close friend, and also consider Miura-san a friend, but I'm not so sure about Sugiura-san. In her case, I'd be horrified by the idea of someone committing suicide, rather than the idea of losing a friend."

"I see," Katsura-san said. "It's hard for me to accept, but I can't deny that personal feelings do influence my judgment- after all, you care more for a friend than someone you don't like."

"I wouldn't go that far," Akasaka-san said. "It's just that Sugiura-san hasn't given us any reason to think that she'll kill anyone, but neither did Sakuragi-kun and Mitamura-san. Still, while she might not be a friend, I don't want her to die, either, so I'm glad you dissuaded her from killing herself."

"Fair enough," I said. "I'm not asking you to like everyone here- just respect and trust them enough to work well together."

Akasaka-san nodded.

"I can do that," Akasaka-san said. "If nothing else, the fact that our lives are on the line puts most of our disagreements and conflicts into perspective. Even if I disliked one of us enough that I'd never want to see them again, I'd never wish for their death."

I could almost hear Kurogane-kun's name on the tip of Akasaka-san's tongue. The two were so different that there was little chance of them ever being friends, but Akasaka-san had still been saddened by his death- and that of his killer- and perhaps Kurogane-kun would have felt the same if Akasaka-san had died and he had lived. In the end, none of us wanted to be here, so at the very least, we could say we had that in common.

* * *

For the rest of the day, I investigated the third floor, while checking on the shift changes every two hours. So far, everyone had reported for guard duty on time, so I felt somewhat confident that they'd continue to do so while I was asleep. I'd worried I'd have to fetch some people if they forgot about their shifts, but I was glad that so far, I didn't have to.

At 8 PM, I reported in for my first shift. Katsura-san got up to leave, and Edogawa-san and I remained in the gallery together. Spending two hours in complete silence was mind-numbing and tedious, so we spent the time talking about all sorts of things, from Edogawa-san's books to our old schools. Eventually, after telling me a little about my sister, I remembered her saying that she had one, too.

"So, Edogawa-san," I said, "I'd like to hear about your sister- Makoto-san, was it? You brought her up in a conversation with Yuuki-san."

"I'm glad you remember my mentioning her," Edogawa-san said. "Like I said to Yuuki-san, she's far from stupid, but she never really applied herself in school, and said that she knew from when she was my age that she didn't have the inclination or skill for a white-collar job. She applied to college because our father insisted, but knew that even though she tried her hardest, she wouldn't make it in anywhere halfway decent. She ended up giving up and working at a bookstore as a cashier."

"I see," I said, trying not to sound as though I pitied her. Hearing about Yuuki-san's vulnerability and shortcomings made me feel grateful for what I had, but I had to be careful not to imagine myself as superior to the others.

"Still, I think she's happy where she is," Edogawa-san said. "The work is simple enough for her, and she's surprisingly good at dealing with difficult customers, with a friendly and personable but still polite demeanor. Whenever someone comes up to buy one of my books, she's tickled pink, and even more so when someone gushes about how she has a talented little sister."

"But doesn't that sound like they're insulting her?" I said.

Edogawa-san smiled and shook her head.

"Not at all," Edogawa-san said, "since she's happy to hear my being praised. Besides, even though many people claim I'm the talented one compared to her, my sister's the one I look up to most, since she possesses the confidence, courage and humility to be herself. She can talk to someone she's just known like they're long-time friends, she isn't ashamed to say she's working retail, and even though Father wishes she'd break up with her boyfriend, her response is almost always something to the effect of, 'Thanks but no thanks, Dad'."

Edogawa-san's tone when discussing her potential brother-in-law made it clear that her sympathies lay with her sister, rather than her father. The same went for me, since I was more inclined to give the boyfriend the benefit of the doubt.

"Ah," I said. "It's a bit soon to say this, but I can't help but be a bit worried about meeting your father."

"Father simply has high standards for anyone who'd want to date one of his 'little princesses', as he might put it," Edogawa-san said. "and doesn't think her boyfriend measures up. My sister, however, is a bit more open-minded, and often asks me when she might get a brother-in-law... or maybe a sister-in-law."

"So does that mean you also have a brother?" I said.

Edogawa-san laughed out loud, and I realized how foolish it was for me, of all people, to have jumped to that conclusion.

"My sister knows that I'm attracted to both boys and girls, and she's perfectly fine with it," Edogawa-san said. "I don't know when or how she found out, only that she knows. At times, my sister's surprisingly intelligent and perceptive, which makes me wonder why she didn't do better in school."

"People are good at certain things, even if they aren't taught in a classroom," I said. "Yuuki-san's one of them."

Edogawa-san nodded in agreement. While I had various doubts about Talent High School, one thing I think it did well was recognizing talent in all sorts of areas, even obscure ones.

"Of course," Edogawa-san said, "being as perceptive as she is, my sister _also_ knows that I haven't been seriously interested in anyone of either gender, or had many friends. I think she'd be glad to meet anyone who her sister likes. As for Father... if you're as polite as usual, he'll at least be able to tolerate you."

We changed the subject for a moment, but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad. Perhaps tolerance was all some people could hope for, like my mother and grandmother, as well as myself and my grandmother, but I couldn't help but want more. Dad loved his mother, but he also loved his wife and daughters, so a part of him was disheartened that Grandmother had never accepted us, because he wanted his loved ones to care for one another. Since I respected Dad's desire, I tried to be polite to Grandmother, and since I shared it, I hoped he, my mom and my sister would accept Edogawa-san.

* * *

At 10 PM, just as the Night Time announcement played, Inoue-kun arrived.

"Shinichi Inoue, reporting for duty," Inoue-kun said. "You can go to bed now, Edogawa-san."

"Thank you, Inoue-kun," Edogawa-san said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miura-san."

"Good night, Edogawa-san," I said, waving to Edogawa-san as she left.

Inoue-kun and I stood there, watching for a little while. Inoue-kun was a little uneasy that nothing had happened yet, but I reassured him that based on the last two hours, this was to be expected. Eventually, we began talking about various things, until he finally decided to bring up something I hadn't heard before.

"Just wondering, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said, "did I ever tell you that my mom's from America?"

I shrugged. By now, I'd collected enough information about my classmates to fill a small book, so I wasn't entirely sure what I was hearing for the first time.

"You may have, Inoue-kun," I said. "I recall hearing that you traveled a lot, right?"

"That's right," Inoue-kun said, "and I actually went to school in America during sixth grade, while my parents were abroad on business."

"What was that like?" I said.

Inoue-kun paused, and I anticipated a long answer, as well as one that he'd have to think over.

"An adjustment," Inoue-kun said. "The first Saturday after I started, I woke up and started looking for my uniform, temporarily forgetting that not only do I not have to wear a uniform in my school, but there's no school on Saturday."

I couldn't help but giggle a little, even though I knew I'd probably have made the same mistake.

"You didn't notice how excited everyone was to leave school on Friday afternoon?" I said.

"Apparently not," Inoue-kun said with a smile. "My mom did tell me about how school works in America, but it's easy to forget when you're only half-awake. Luckily, when I got back, Mom woke me up on the first Saturday I had school, and made sure I got dressed and out the door in time."

Inoue-kun smiled warmly as he told the story. Apparently, he'd enjoyed his time in America if even the embarrassing moments could become pleasant memories.

"Anyway, for the most part, I was fairly lucky," Inoue-kun said. "I didn't make too many embarrassing mistakes, but everyone knew I was the new kid, and the people I spoke with didn't hold it against me. I ended up making some good friends while I was over there, and I keep in touch by mail."

"What about clubs?" I said. "Did you join one?"

"Not at first," Inoue-kun said. "I mostly went straight home every day for the first couple weeks, since I didn't have that many interests that translated well into clubs, and wasn't sure whether it was OK to make a commitment when I'd only be staying a year. I did, however, join the Gay-Straight Alliance when one of my new friends invited me."

"What's that?" I said with a noticeable hint of eager curiosity in my voice.

"It's a club for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders and people questioning their sexuality, as well as their friends and allies," Inoue-kun said. "I hadn't heard all that much about the cause before I joined, but once I did, I found it was a pretty good fit for me."

The idea that I wasn't alone, and that there were people out there who thought it was perfectly fine to like someone of the same gender was a comforting one. I had to wonder if Edogawa-san had told Inoue-kun that I was a lesbian, or whether he'd figured it out himself.

"I probably would have felt the same way," I said. "It seems like a place that accepts all sorts of people."

"That's America in a nutshell," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, getting all those different people to actually _get along_ is another story altogether, but I admire the principle."

I had to agree. Our group, despite having wildly different talents and personalities, was somewhat homogeneous- we were all ethnically Japanese, only one of us was at all religious, and all but two of us were heterosexual- but even so, we probably had our differences even before the killing game.

"You sound like you'd rather be in America," I said, "and not just because we all wish we were practically anywhere besides this school."

"There's parts of it that I miss," Inoue-kun said. "A lot of the people there are laid-back, friendly and welcoming, while others... aren't so much. I did always feel like the 'new kid,' but maybe that would have changed if I'd stayed for a while longer. After I returned to Japan, I'd started questioning many of the values I'd grown up with and other things I'd taken for granted. I suppose most of my core beliefs have stayed the same, but I'm not as _sure_ of them anymore."

"I suppose that happens," I said. "If we make it through here and get back to our old lives, then I suspect those who knew us before will realize that we've changed."

"They probably will," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, I'm fairly sure my family would understand and accept the person I've become, and I hope yours do, too."

My parents had once joked to each other that when it came to teenage daughters, my sister and I were better than most- we had good grades, stayed out of trouble and weren't going too fast when it came to romance. They were fairly understanding, though, so I had to wonder why I'd never even considered asking them what they'd think if they found out their younger daughter was a lesbian. We'd probably have a great deal to discuss when and if we were reunited, so I added that issue to the list.

* * *

At the stroke of midnight, Hoshino-kun stepped into the gallery.

"I'm here to relieve you, Miura," Hoshino-kun said, "so now, you get to go to bed."

"Thank you, Hoshino-kun," I said. "I hope your shift goes well."

"It should," Hoshino-kun said, "You should probably worry more about Inoue, since he's SOL if Sugiura doesn't replace him. The same goes for me if Yuuki flakes out. "

"In my experience, Yuuki-san can be counted on when you need her," Inoue-kun said, "as can Sugiura-san."

Hoshino-kun scoffed.

"If you say so," Hoshino-kun said. "Forgive me if I don't have all that high expectations of someone who jumps up an down while waving her arms, or someone who mainly waits tables."

Once again, Hoshino-kun had a point, since the system was reliant on all our efforts.

"Why not think of it differently?" I said. "Yuuki-san is part of a team, and thus understands the value of hard work, selfless commitment to the group and working well with others. Sugiura-san has held down a job at a young age, and thus knows the importance of being reliable."

Hoshino-kun shrugged. He didn't have a counter-argument to that, but it was probably too much to ask him to trust in Sugiura-san until she turned up.

"Anyway, worst-case scenario, I'll at least be able to stand up, and not conk out on the floor," Inoue-kun said, "at least until night time ends at 7."

"It shouldn't come to that," I said, "but good luck, and stay safe."

While I hadn't had much time to think over the guard duty system, in hindsight, four-hour shifts were probably just about right. In addition to ensuring that everyone's burden was equal, it also meant that if someone couldn't come to their shift, it meant that if someone had to cover for a person who didn't show up, their burden wouldn't be too onerous. Still, since I was up past my bedtime, I was glad Hoshino-kun had shown up, and headed back to my room.

* * *

Returning to my room, I unlocked the door, and saw Monokuma standing on my desk.

"Monokuma!" I said. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my room?"

"Easy, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "You're starting to remind me of my little sister."

Once again, Monokuma raised more questions than he answered. Did robotic bears have siblings or childhoods? What kind of home did Monokuma live in as a cub? And did Monokuma treat everyone as poorly as he treated us?

"Anyway, that's not the point," Monokuma said. "You've got a pretty clever plan here, but it's only as good as the people you've got on it. Do you trust all your friends?"

"Not completely," I said, "but I'm confident that they can keep an eye on their partners, thereby keeping each other in check."

"Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma said. "In my experience, all you bastards just need a little extra push to get into the killing game. Who knows? Maybe you'll follow in Mitamura-san's footsteps and kill someone, but it'd be a shame if you did."

"I'm not sure why," I said. "Your goal is to get us to kill each other, isn't it?"

"You've got that right," Monokuma said, "but I also need someone to solve the mysteries, or else the blackened will graduate and put an end to my fun. When the next murder happens and the next class trial begins, I'll be counting on you... assuming you're not the victim, of course!"

Monokuma left once again. After changing into my tracksuit, I went to bed, but couldn't fall asleep until I was too tired to stay awake. Not only was Monokuma showing up without being invited disturbing, but he'd also forced me to confront the fact that if anything went wrong- as it most likely inevitably would- at least one of us would be to blame. While I still hoped to protect my friends, I ultimately had to acknowledge that I wasn't protecting them from some outside threat- it was from each other.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _I wonder what the big deal is about watching the best of the best compete._

 _Lots of little boys watch big league baseball players on TV and want to go pro when they grow up, even though they can't catch a ball. Lots of little girls want to become idol singers, even though they can't carry a tune._

 _Why don't we put the local softball club on TV, or have concerts for all those ugly girls with awful singing voices?_

 _Instead of aspiring to do something they can't, all those boys and girls will feel a little better about what they are, and they'll realize- you don't need talent to get famous. Hell, you never did!_

* * *

 _Day 13_

I woke up around 7:30 AM, apparently having slept through my alarm. After getting dressed and taking a quick shower now that Night Time had ended, I then proceeded to the dining hall, and saw that Fukuda-kun was still sitting there at one of the small tables.

"Morning, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "We're done with breakfast, but I could wait here and talk with you if you'd like."

"I'd appreciate it," I said.

I went to the kitchen to put together a quick breakfast for myself- a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice- before sitting down across from Fukuda-kun.

"Just a question," Fukuda-kun said, "Did you have a lot of friends in the past?"

"Some," I said, "but I wasn't all that close to any of them. When life took us in separate directions, we parted ways, lost touch, and almost completely forgot each other."

Fukuda-kun gave me a sympathetic look. It was clear that I wasn't the only one whose group of friends had a high turnover rate.

"That happens," Fukuda-kun said. "My parents had to move a lot, so I didn't have the time to get close with my friends. After a while, I just gave up, and didn't try to get really close to anyone. I don't see any point in changing that now."

"Because any of us could die at any time?" I said, remembering how he'd been interested in becoming friends with Sakuragi-kun.

"That's part of the reason," Fukuda-kun said, "but really, let's think about it. In a best-case scenario, if the door opens up today and we get out of here, we'll go back to our old lives, and probably never see each other again. Most of us go to different schools after all, and while Akasaka and I are from the same town, we go to different high schools. Even considering we went to school together, we aren't exactly close friends."

"Maybe not," I said, "but these two weeks have been fairly trying times, and fighting for our survival together is far more meaningful than just being in the same class or the same club."

Fukuda-kun shrugged.

"You have a point," Fukuda-kun said. "If we ever do get out here, I would like to hear from you again. I can't promise we'll stay friends forever, but I'll give it a try."

I nodded gratefully. I didn't know whether Fukuda-kun or anyone else would still be alive tomorrow, much less when and if we got out, but I hoped that everyone still alive would remain that way for the foreseeable future. We all had promises to keep, things we wanted to do with our lives and people we wanted to see again, all of which were compelling reasons to want to stay alive and escape.

* * *

I spent most of the morning investigating the third floor, and occasionally checking up on the guards. Everyone had successfully gone through at least one shift without any real problems, so while I knew this couldn't last forever, at least we were off to a decent start. Shortly before 1 PM, I saw Yuuki-san emerge from her room while I was on the way to lunch.

"Morning, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "Oh, wait, it's afternoon now, right?"

"That's right, Yuuki-san," I said. "Of course, 'good morning' seems to be most appropriate for someone who just woke up."

Yuuki-san giggled.

"Yep," Yuuki-san said. "It's sort of confusing, so I'm glad I'm not planning on working the graveyard shift."

"By the way, I'm curious," I said. "You probably only got in at the end, but how were things between Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san last night?"

"Not that bad, actually," Yuuki-san said. "When I got there, Sora-kun and Anzu-chan were pretty much standing there, not saying a word to each other. It's pretty darn awkward, but hey, at least they can work together."

"That's probably the most I could expect from them," I said. "I was worried that they wouldn't be able to watch the case together, but if they can at least tolerate each other, I suppose that's good."

"Yep," Yuuki-san said. "Of course, Anzu-chan got a bit snippy with Kuro-chan after she showed up late. Kuro-chan apologized, so it was all good, though."

On the one hand, if this was the worst problem we'd faced thus far, things were going better than I'd anticipated. On the other hand, it still needed to be resolved.

"That's a relief," I said. "Still, I will have a talk with each of them, just to make sure it doesn't end up becoming a problem."

"Good plan," Yuuki-san said. "Still, I had a good time standing guard with Kuro-chan, and I even got along with Anzu-chan, so it wasn't all bad."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. "I'm curious, though- have you ever met someone you got along with, but never exactly became friends with?"

Yuuki-san paused, placing a finger on her chin.

"I dunno," Yuuki-san said. "I guess my teachers count, since they're supposed to teach us and enforce the rules, so they've got to keep things if you're thinking of someone my own age, I guess Reiko-chan counts, even if she was kind of an authority figure."

"I actually think Mitamura-san's sense of duty was only part of the problem," I said. "Another part was that she didn't trust us enough to confide in us."

"Yeah," Yuuki-san said. "I kind of get where she's coming from, since there's a lot of things I don't tell just anyone. Of course, I kind of wanted to be that sort of person to her, and show her that I wasn't all that concerned about what she thought of me. Even though our personalities were so different, I still think we could've been friends, so I'm bummed out we didn't get the chance."

While I was accustomed enough to Yuuki-san's friendly nature and assumption of familiarity with people she'd only recently met that I no longer questioned them, they suddenly made more sense now. She'd been extending an invitation of friendship to anyone who'd accept, while I'd initially been a bit more reserved.

"That unfortunately happens," I said, "since many people don't bother to make the effort to get closer for one reason or another, until their lives take them separate directions. That said, Yuuki-san, I don't intend to let that happen here, so please understand that I think of you as a friend, too."

"Thanks, Kaori-chan," Yuuki-san said. "You really made my day."

Yuuki-san walked off to the dining hall with a spring in her step, which was pleasing to see. The past few days had been somewhat hard on her, even compared to the rest of the killing game, so seeing her genuinely happy was one of those things that brightened up my day a little.

* * *

I entered the kitchen and watched Sugiura-san cook lunch. As Sugiura-san was retrieving her ingredients, I decided to bring up what I'd heard.

"If you don't mind, Sugiura-san, I'd like to talk with you about last night," I said.

Sugiura-san stopped what she was doing, then turned to me.

"Let me guess," Sugiura-san said. "Akasaka complained about me."

"Not exactly," I said, "but I heard you weren't happy about her not showing up on time and got angry with her."

Noticing my disapproving tone, Sugiura-san looked a bit chastened.

"I'm sorry if I got a little rude," Sugiura said. "Still, showing up on time is the most basic of basics. You won't last long in my line of work if you can't manage that."

"That's true," I said, "but Akasaka-san did apologize, both to you and to me. Under the circumstances, I think it would be best to forgive her."

"All right," Sugiura-san said. "I guess I owe her an apology, too."

I nodded, then decided to steer the conversation in a more positive direction.

"Anyway," I said, "I also heard that you were able to work at least passably well Hoshino-kun. I know you've... had your differences, but I'm glad that you can put them aside."

"It's not that big of a deal," Sugiura-san said. "If Yuuki shows up and finds Hoshino dead, then even she can probably figure out that I did it. I'm not stupid enough to kill someone in a way that'd get me caught so easily."

"That's part of the point," I said. "I hope to deter any murder attempts by keeping watch over the case, and having a set schedule."

Sugiura-san nodded.

"Besides, putting up with people is a part of life," Sugiura-san said. "At work or in school, you're generally pretty lucky if most of the people you're with are halfway tolerable, much less people you'd consider befriending. Hoshino's on my Top 10 list of the biggest jerks I've dealt with on a regular basis, but he's still somewhat low on that list."

"Because he keeps his hands to himself?" I said.

Sugiura-san let off a soft giggle.

"I'm kind of amazed you remember that, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "Anyway, Hoshino's a prick, but he's a tolerable prick, so two hours a day with someone like him is nothing compared to what I'm used to."

"That's good," I said. "And what about Yuuki-san?"

"I actually kind of like her," Sugiura-san said. "I mean, sure, the smile that's plastered on her face isn't entirely real, but she doesn't seem like the kind who'd put on a facade for others. I think she might make a good waitress- she's got the attitude for it- but while I'd probably like her more than my coworkers, I'm scared to think what the job would do to her."

We talked for a little bit about Sugiura-san's coworkers and classmates, particularly the other nine people on her list, and my mind went back to what Inoue-kun had talked to me about the previous night. For better or worse, Talent High School had brought together many people with different skillsets and personality types from all across Japan, who otherwise never would have met. Even outside of the killing game, getting everyone to get along was a challenge, to say the least, but I was glad I'd met my classmates.

* * *

After lunch, I found Akasaka-san in the library, sitting and reading. She noticed me come in and stood up to greet me.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Akasaka-san. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for showing up late."

Akasaka-san bowed deeply in apology.

"Apology accepted, Akasaka-san," I said. "Sugiura-san said she was probably a little harsh with you, so if she's forgiven you, I think the matter is settled."

Akasaka-san rose, and then nodded.

"Thank you, Miura-san," Akasaka-san said. "Still, I'm curious- what sort of punishments do you have in mind for rulebreakers?'

I paused, caught off guard. Being trapped in a situation in which Monokuma was the only official authority figure meant that we were cut off from all other adult authorities- our parents, teachers, police officers and many others- and thus made it harder to make our unofficial rules, from the nighttime curfew to guard duty, work on anything other than the honor system. Since Monokuma wanted us to cast aside our sensibilities as civilized human beings and kill each other, this was clearly no accident.

"You know, I hadn't really thought about that," I said. "Even Mitamura-san said she didn't have the power to enforce the rules."

"True," Akasaka-san said. "I once talked with her about how our parents disciplined us, and she said that while her family was quite strict, they also believed that once children got to her age, they'd have to know what the right thing to do was, or else live with the consequences of their mistakes."

I wasn't surprised. The point of parents disciplining you was to show you that your actions had consequences, and break you of your bad habits, lest you practice them in adulthood and face worse consequences.

"And what about your family, Akasaka-san?" I said.

"The punishment fits the crime, so to speak," Akasaka-san said. "If I don't eat my vegetables, I don't get dessert. If I do badly in school, my parents ground me until my grades improve. If I do something unbecoming of a girl my age... then I get told to sit in the corner, like a little kid. If I make an honest mistake, or do something I didn't know was bad, my parents let me off with a warning."

"That sounds fair enough," I said. "When it comes to your tardiness, I think an apology's enough for the first offense. If it happens again, I may consider reassigning you, but for now, I'll trust you to show up on time. Does this sound fair?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Akasaka-san said. "Oh, sorry, Miura-san, I forgot you didn't want us to call you that."

"I don't _expect_ you to," I said. "If your parents are like my mom, they probably taught you to say that to almost any woman older than a high schooler, so I don't mind if it slips out."

Akasaka-san and I shared a laugh at that, and discussed our respective parents. We found that they had a lot in common- they were strict about the important stuff, were open-minded about everything else, and would be heartbroken if anything happened to their children. Like Akasaka-san said, our lives didn't solely belong to us, so I hoped that all the survivors' families would be spared the pain that the Kurogane, Sakuragi, Mizuhara and Mitamura families would suffer when they learned of their children's deaths.

After Akasaka-san left, I sat in the library for a moment, reading through the student code of conduct in an attempt to try to make a more comprehensive list of rules, but ultimately gave up. Part of the reason was the sheer difficulty of thinking of everything that we wanted to prevent and actually thinking up fair punishments, and another part was how little good it would do. In the end, all of us were responsible for resisting Monokuma's temptations, just like all of us were responsible for guarding the case, and I could only hope against hope that we could be trusted to do the right thing.

* * *

We held our first meeting at 3 PM. Despite being at an odd time, everyone showed up, not just the two who were already in the room. Considering how many students were late to school or cut class, it was nothing less than a miracle that we'd had perfect attendance at the meetings thus far.

We then discussed a possible policy for no-shows. Our decision was that if a person was late on a regular basis, or absent more than once, we'd have someone else cover their shift. Hoshino-kun cynically asked if being relieved of one's duty was more a reward than a punishment, but Katsura-san thought of it differently. To her, it was a responsibility, and if someone couldn't handle theirs, we'd find someone who could.

The meeting began with Akasaka-san and Sugiura-san exchanging apologies, each of which the other graciously accepted. I took the opportunity to use the incident as a teachable moment, to show that keeping the gun out of people's hands required us to do our duty and get along with others. For now, everyone seemed to accept that, even if getting them to follow it was easier said than done.

For the most part, the meeting discussed how guarding the case was going, and each person shared a little of their experience. Apparently. none of the guards saw anyone come into the gallery besides me or the people reporting for duty. After that, we discussed our investigation, but we found that we didn't have much to discuss. It certainly didn't help that with each of us spending four of our waking hours on guard duty, we had less time to investigate.

I refrained from bringing up the search for the mastermind. Not only did I not know where to begin, but if I had a viable lead or possible clue, I'd only discuss it with someone I trusted completely, away from the security cameras' watchful gaze.

An hour later, the meeting concluded, and everyone besides Fukuda-kun and Katsura-san left. While I had relatively few complaints about how things were going thus far, I realized that things weren't getting any better, and couldn't help but wonder how long this fragile status quo would hold.

* * *

Just after the meeting, I went to the library and found Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun sitting at a table, looking through the foreign language books. I gave them a quick wave and sat down next to them, at which point Inoue-kun picked out the top item on his pile.

"This looks like a German business journal," Inoue-kun said, "containing a paper by the Ultimate Economist on the long-term impacts tariffs have on a nation's manufacturing industries."

"Bo-o-o-ring," Tezuka-kun said.

Inoue-kun and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "I'm fairly confident in my grasp of German, but I'm having trouble with a lot of the industry jargon and neologisms here."

"I probably wouldn't understand that, even if it was in Japanese," I said, "but Katsura-san probably could help you with the terminology if you translated it for her."

"Yet another reason I'm glad I'm not going into business," Tezuka-kun said. "To think that I was most turned off by the fact that I'd have to wear a tie to work..."

"You mean like I do every day?" I said. "I actually kind of like it."

Inoue-kun and I shared a laugh at Tezuka-kun's odd priorities, while Tezuka-kun laughed at my enjoying wearing a lot of boys' least favorite item of clothing.

"Anyway, what are you up to?" I said.

"We're looking for information in here," Tezuka-kun said, "so Inoue suggested looking for stuff in other languages."

Tezuka-kun gestured to the books and magazines on the table, which were in two piles. Inoue-kun placed the business journal in what looked like the "done" pile, which was significantly larger.

"I was wondering if the mastermind overlooked an important clue that was written in a foreign language," Inoue-kun said, "but unfortunately, the staff don't write any of their interoffice communications in other languages, so I've only found Talent High School students' work in foreign language, like a copy of Aiko Aizawa in English, or the Ultimate Film Critic's review of a French movie. There's a few other documents, like a travel guide to Novoselic- apparently, they'd tried to recruit the princess to come here, but found out that Hope's Peak got her already."

"Ah," I said. "You might not have much to show for it, but it's nice that you've done this much already."

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I didn't think speaking another language would have any use here, but it's kind of nice having that skill. If we get back, I'll pay more attention in English class."

"Good idea," Inoue-kun said. "I'm always glad whenever someone gains an appreciation for the power of language."

We worked together for a little while, with Tezuka-kun and I searching for foreign language books and Inoue-kun skimming through them. Little of the information was relevant to our quest to find a way out, since these documents had been published long before the school had been sealed, but it did make us wonder what kind of school Talent High School was.

* * *

At 8 PM, I met up with Edogawa-san, who was on duty with Katsura-san. I wished Katsura-san a good night, and she responded in kind, promising to let me know if anything changed. Once we were alone, Edogawa-san once again struck up a conversation.

"I'm curious about something, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "How exactly did you get to be so well-mannered?"

I chuckled, a bit embarrassed to be praised for something that I thought was so basic, and something several of the others here practiced at least as well as I did.

"Well, you're pretty polite too, Edogawa-san," I said. "You're a good listener, you say 'please' and 'thank you,' you always use honorifics on people... the list goes on and on."

"I know," Edogawa-san said, blushing slightly. "Still, when it comes to good manners, you're probably the most consistently polite person I know."

"I get what you're saying," I said. "If you really think so, I guess you can thank my mom for that."

Edogawa-san nodded and listened attentively.

"My mom always says a little common courtesy is like cream and sugar in coffee- something that takes little effort and makes social interactions a lot sweeter," I said. "She makes a habit of smiling, calling people 'sir' or 'ma'am' and being polite to everyone, from her boss to the teenager who rings her up at the convenience store. And I do mean 'everyone'- she even calls me 'Kaori-san' and says 'please' when telling me to go to my room."

I once asked my mom why she was so formal with her family, and she said, "Why not, Kaori-san?" To most people, this would seem flippant, but my mother meant it. She didn't see good manners as onerous or something that was only for one's betters, but something everyone deserved, so she didn't really think anything of acting that way toward me.

"Your mother's certainly committed," Edogawa-san said. "Of course, if she's at all like my father, she must have been strict with you and your sister."

"Not exactly," I said. "Mom mainly teaches by example, and hopes to serve as a role model for her daughters. She does scold us if we're rude, but only so that we learn what she's trying to teach us and grow up to be good adults."

"That's nice," Edogawa-san said. "It sounds as though your mother could get along with almost anyone."

"Unfortunately, not everyone," I said. "Grandmother- my mom's mother-in-law- doesn't approve of Mom, or any other woman who works outside the home, seeing them as not traditional enough. There's only two ways this conflict can be resolved- either Mom quits her job to become a housewife, or Grandmother changes her mind- and I don't see either happening."

"Nor do I," Edogawa-san said. "I'm somewhat more sympathetic to your mother, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect your grandmother to change her mind."

I reluctantly nodded. Grandmother's opinion of Mom hadn't changed at all in the last 20 years, so there wasn't much hope of it changing now. As much as I disagreed with Grandmother's relatively patriarchal worldview, I knew I couldn't reasonably ask her to cast aside the beliefs that had guided her all her life.

"Mom knows that," I said, "but she's still polite to her mother-in-law, so the two actually manage to keep things fairly civil. They still don't agree, but they can at least be in the same room without fighting. My mom believes that not all differences can be reconciled, but if everyone puts a little more effort into getting along, the world would be a better place."

"That's a noble goal," Edogawa-san said, "even if it's difficult to truly make reality."

"I know," I said, "since not everyone's willing to go along with it. That said, it doesn't ask that much of an individual, so I do what I can."

We shared stories about our families for the rest of our shift. While Monokuma was hoping that we'd kill to see our loved ones again, they'd also taught us good values that made it less likely for us to kill. Dad had taught me a sense of duty to the group, so he'd never stand for my selfishly betraying my friends, while Mom believed in kindness toward others, so the idea of killing one person would be unacceptable to her, even without the others being condemned to death if I got away with it. Like Akasaka-san said, I hoped to see my family again, but also knew I could only face them if I did everything in my power to keep my friends safe.

* * *

At 10 PM, just after Monokuma's Night Time Announcement, Inoue-kun arrived and replaced Edogawa-san. Once we were alone, I decided to ask him something I'd been curious about for a while, about a subject for which Inoue-kun hadn't shared his opinion.

"Just wondering, Inoue-kun, but what do you think of Hoshino-kun?" I said.

Inoue-kun paused to think. His personality was far too different from Hoshino-kun's for them to get along very well, but he was tactful enough to consider his words before speaking, so I doubted his judgment of Hoshino-kun would be too harsh.

"It's hard to say," Inoue-kun said. "On the one hand, I appreciate that he says what's on his mind. On the other hand, I think he could do so in a way that was less rude and abrasive."

"Exactly," I said. "Of course, he also doesn't seem to care what others think of him, so good luck convincing him."

Inoue-kun chuckled.

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "Still, we had an interesting conversation last night, about the various white lies you tell for the sake of fitting in. I actually completely understand why he's so cynical about telling white lies and keeping your opinions to yourself."

"How so?" I said. While we were getting sidetracked, I was more interested in hearing more about this than I was hearing more about Inoue-kun's thoughts about Hoshino-kun.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding completely full of myself," Inoue-kun said, "but even before I was scouted as the Ultimate Linguist, I had a reputation as a linguistic prodigy. A lot of people who knew my parents told them how impressive it was that I had mastered so many languages at such a young age."

"I don't think you're bragging," I said. "A lot of Ultimates achieve a great deal before they get scouted, and I think it's fair to be honest about what you've actually accomplished."

Part of the reason why I wasn't all that proud of my talent was because I knew that before I went to that tournament, I was just another student, who'd been brought in because I was friends with a club member, and could be counted on to regularly show up. Of course, while that fact hadn't changed, I'd gradually come to realize that Edogawa-san and all the other Ultimates were simply ordinary people who happened to be extraordinarily talented in at least one area.

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "My parents agreed, of course, but outwardly, they deflected the compliments, saying I wasn't a very good student, and was an embarrassment to a family."

"In other words, they downplayed your accomplishments to make it seem like they weren't bragging about you," I said.

As polite as Mom was, she didn't especially like doing this. She was willing to tell white lies to spare someone's feelings, but in this case, she believed deflecting compliments was done out of concern for how others viewed you, than of how they actually felt.

"Oh, I knew why my parents acted that way," Inoue-kun said, "but I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable that they were basically lying for my sake. Those people were our friends, so shouldn't my parents be able to be honest with them without worrying about their reputation?"

"I think so," I said. "But is it possible those praising you might know that your parents were just feigning modesty for the sake of good manners, and for the same reason, let that pass without comment? That's how my dad sees it, anyway."

"Good question," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, in America, my folks would probably have a 'My Child is the Ultimate So-And-So at Talent High School' bumper sticker on their car. Dad always found those to be tacky, as well as a part of the 'everyone is a winner' idea that he says celebrates mediocrity rather than real achievements, but Mom and I thought the parents were just proud of their kids."

I had to wonder what Inoue-kun's father thought of Talent High School. All its students were impressively talented in their various areas, but not quite to the same degree as Hope's Peak's Ultimates- Edogawa-san had published 10 books at a fairly young age, but Fukawa-san had published at least 80, and started even younger. His standards probably weren't so high that he wouldn't be impressed by what my classmates had accomplished, but I had to wonder if he really thought we were "Ultimates."

"Might it be another cultural difference between your parents?" I said. "I've heard American parents tend to be more emotionally open with their children than many Japanese parents."

"Stereotypes aren't everything," Inoue-kun said with a chuckle. "From being perky to calling us by our first names, Yuuki-san's probably the most American of all of us, but she insists she's 'totally 100 percent Japanese'. I think it's a matter of personality- my mom believes in positive reinforcement and letting her kids know that she's proud of them, while Dad believes the kids need to earn their parents' approval."

"I see," I said. "I don't know how strict my parents are compared to yours, but they were proud that I got into Talent High School. My talent might not be all that impressive, but they did seem genuinely proud of me, and weren't just giving empty praise."

"I'd probably feel the same way if I was your dad," Inoue-kun said. "You've done a lot for us, Miura-san, and I think Talent High School would be- or rather, was- glad to have you as a student. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I won't," I said. "Thanks, Da- er, Inoue-kun."

Inoue-kun and I then talked for a bit about how things were different in America, from people more readily using first names to people driving on the other side of the road. His time abroad and the people he'd met- from a girl questioning her gender identity to another girl who had a girlfriend- had broadened his horizons, and gave me hope that people's minds could be opened, even if they weren't necessarily changed.

* * *

As midnight rolled around, I saw Sugiura-san come up. Drowsy and unused to being up past midnight, I wasn't sure how to greet her.

"Oh, good evening, Sugiura-san," I said. "Wait, or is it morning?"

"For you, it's bedtime," Sugiura-san said. "I'm here to relieve you."

"Really?" I said. "I thought Hoshino-kun was next."

As I checked the schedule on the wall, which confirmed what I'd heard, Sugiura-san shook her head, reached into her skirt pocket and took out a sheet of paper. She then unfolded it and showed it to me, and I saw Sugiura-san's name where Hoshino-kun's used to be, and vice versa.

"Well, the schedule changed," Sugiura-san said. "I found this under my door."

"So did I," Inoue-kun said. "Sorry, Miura-san, I just forgot to mention it before- I thought you'd heard, too."

"No, that's all right," I said, "but what about Katsura-san? She didn't tell me, either- I last saw her at 8 PM."

Inoue-kun paused to think.

"I see," Inoue-kun said. "The schedule was slipped under my door just before I came up here."

"Mine, too," Sugiura-san said. "I wondered if it was a prank, but if Inoue got it, too, then at the very least, it's an elaborate one."

"I'll check to see if anyone left something for me," I said. "Then again, Sugiura-san, I'd like to know something- did you ask to switch places with Hoshino-kun?"

Sugiura-san laughed and shook her head.

"You might've forgotten, but we aren't exactly on speaking terms right now," Sugiura-san said, "but no, I didn't talk with him about that."

I furrowed my brow. Something was odd, since the schedule change should at least have had Hoshino-kun's approval, but I wasn't sure what was going on.

"Anyway, I don't know if Katsura's sleeping on the job or what, but you can be sure of one thing," Sugiura-san said. "Hoshino is not going to show up, so I'm the only relief you're going to get. You should go to bed."

I reluctantly nodded, stifling a yawn.

"All right," I said. "For tonight, I'm going to accept the revised schedule, but I'm going to talk with Katsura-san as soon as I can. We'll get to the bottom of this tomorrow aft- I mean, the next meeting."

As I let off a yawn, I half-walked, half-stumbled out of the gallery. For all his practicality and willingness to make tough choices, Dad didn't think much of giving employees overtime, since overworked employees were not productive employees. Exhausted and less vigilant than I was, I decided to return to my room and rest, grateful to Sugiura-san for showing up.

* * *

After returning to the dorms, I saw Edogawa-san standing outside her room, dressed in her tracksuit pajamas.

"Hello, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "Do you have a minute?"

"I do, Edogawa-san," I said. "You're still awake?"

"I couldn't get to sleep," Edogawa-san said. "Besides, I was hoping to talk to you, since I noticed a piece of paper partially stuck under your door, ever since I got back."

I looked under my door. There was a scrap of paper that was far enough under my door that I couldn't retrieve it, so I opened it up and picked up the piece of paper, a hastily written note about the schedule.

"It's a revised schedule," I said, "one in which Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san switched spots."

"Does that make much of a difference?" Edogawa-san said.

"It might," I said. "Tonight, Sugiura-san was the one who replaced me, not Hoshino-kun. She and Inoue-kun claimed to have received an updated schedule."

"I see," Edogawa-san said, stifling a yawn. "I'd suggest asking Katsura-san about this, but it's a bit late."

Since we weren't supposed to be out at Night Time, Katsura-san would likely be wary of any unannounced late-night visitors, and probably wouldn't answer the door... assuming she didn't sleep through her doorbell ringing. While I was a bit worried about it, I decided to wait until tomorrow, and get to the bottom of the issue with Katsura-san and the people involved.

"I know," I said. "Good night, Edogawa-san, I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said.

I then opened the door to my room and locked it behind me. I got my copy of the schedule out of the drawer, but while I noticed that it seemed like the handwriting was slightly different from the one under my door, I wasn't sure what to make of it. While people had mostly consistent handwriting styles, with their own quirks and signature traits, said style wasn't always the same- a hastily written note to a friend in class was likely to be different from a hand-written letter. I wasn't a handwriting analyst, though, so I couldn't tell for certain.

While unanswered questions still weighed heavily on my mind, I was tired enough that after changing out of my uniform and climbing into bed, I fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _People always talk about aiming to make your next work a critical hit or a popular success. To that I say, why not do both?_

 _You could make a song that's so popular that your fans send hate mail and death threats to any critic that pans it._

 _Alternatively, you could direct a movie that's so good that the critics buy a couple million tickets to it, each._

 _Or maybe you could bribe the book critics to review your book favorably, and have the schools make it required reading, forcing everyone to buy a copy._

 _Good luck, and have fun making your next big blockbuster!_

* * *

 _Day 14_

Having apparently slept through my alarm and the morning announcement, I woke up around 7:30 AM. After I got dressed, I headed into the dining hall and saw Iwasawa-san.

"Good morning, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "Everyone else is finished eating, but I can make you some breakfast if you like."

"Please do," I said.

I watched Iwasawa-san as she made breakfast, partly at her suggestion so she could confirm that no one had poisoned it, and partly so that I could learn the recipe myself. She served it up and I ate it- by the time I was finished, it was about 7:55 AM.

"That was a good meal," I said. "As thanks for breakfast, I'd like to walk you to your shift."

"Thank you," Iwasawa-san said.

We started walking together. Most of our classmates had gone back to their rooms for a morning shower, so we didn't see too many people out and about.

"It must be hard working so late into the night," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm used to getting up at the crack of dawn, so I have to go to bed early to get enough sleep."

"For most people my age, staying up is the easy part," I said, "since they have all sorts of reasons to do so, from watching late night TV to getting homework done. The hard part is getting up the next morning and spending most of the day at school without enough sleep."

"Ah, I see," Iwasawa-san said. "So that's why Miss Yuuki sleeps in so late in the mornings after staying up late for guard duty."

I nodded. A part of me hoped that we'd eventually no longer have to watch over the gun, and thus could return to our normal sleep schedules. Of course, I realized that this would only happen if the gun were actually used in a murder, so I thought better of it. Perhaps, as an alternative, we could change some of the positions around, so that some of the people who'd been standing watch at night could eventually switch to daytime shifts.

With this in mind, I then remembered the last thing that had been on my mind mere hours ago.

"Anyway, there's something I've been curious about," I said. "Did you get a revised schedule some time yesterday- I mean, in the last 24 hours?"

I couldn't help but stumble over my words. Since I usually went to bed at a reasonable hour, I thought the day ended when I tucked myself in, not at the stroke of midnight. The distinction, however, didn't make any difference to Iwasawa-san, who just shook her head.

"No, _never_ ," Iwasawa-san said. "Why do you ask?"

"When my shift ended, Sugiura-san was the one who showed up to replace me, instead of Hoshino-kun," I said. "I was wondering if you heard anything about that."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't," Iwasawa-san said. "Maybe they only told the people affected- you, Miss Sugiura, Mr. Hoshino and Mr. Inoue."

"That makes sense," I said. "I'll ask Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san more about this, since they'd also have to know about it."

"Good idea," Iwasawa-san said. "I saw Miss Akasaka heading to her shift, but she didn't say anything about the schedule. It was 6 AM, so she was running a bit late, and she said she'd have to apologize to Miss Sugiura."

While Sugiura-san wasn't as pleasant as she'd seemed, she was used to covering for people, so I suspected she'd forgive Akasaka-san's tardiness.

We reached the third floor and headed for the gallery. As I opened the door, the stench of blood reached my nostrils, but even that couldn't prepare me for what I saw.

Akasaka-san lay dead, in a pool of her own blood, clutching a bloody knife in her left hand and wearing a blood-soaked trash bag over her uniform. Yuuki-san's body was slumped against the wall, holding the gun in her right hand, her cheerleader uniform stained with blood from knife wounds to her chest and throat.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

Kaori's mother, Mei, is named after Mei Misaki from Another, while Kaori's father, Kouichi, is named after Kouichi Sakakibara. Kaori's older sister is named after Misaki Fujioka.

Some people complain about Danganronpa games falling back on two murders in the third chapter as being stale, but I personally think this trope has its uses. In terms of the murder mysteries, it helps make the third class trial a bit more complex than the first two, especially with the possibility that one or both of the victims killed the other. In terms of the cast, it helps thin down the number of students in the middle of the game, thus allowing more focus on the survivors.

The poll this time will be a little different. You can choose up to two culprits.

For reference, here's the schedule.

8 AM-10 AM, Akasaka and Iwasawa

10 AM-Noon: Iwasawa and Kagami

Noon-2 PM: Kagami and Tezuka

2 PM-4 PM: Tezuka and Fukuda

4 PM-6 PM: Fukuda and Katsura

6 PM-8 PM: Katsura and Edogawa

8 PM-10 PM: Edogawa and Miura

10 PM-Midnight: Miura and Inoue

Midnight-2 AM: Inoue and Hoshino

2 AM-4 AM: Hoshino and Sugiura

4 AM-6 AM: Sugiura and Yuuki

6 AM-8 AM: Yuuki and Akasaka

I have some bad news- the fic is going on hiatus. I'm playing World of Warcraft, and with the Battle for Azeroth expansion coming out soon, I'll be spending much of my free time playing, leveling up my character and getting ready for raiding. Another factor is how few people are reading this, which is honestly somewhat disappointing. After all, there's less incentive to continue if not many people are reading and counting on an update, so I'd like to take a break for a little while. Yet another factor is that I'd like to give myself time to work on and further polish the latter half of the fic.

That said, I do intend to finish the fic, and will continue to work on the fic and the as of yet incomplete Free Time Events during the hiatus. Chapter III, Part 4 will be posted some time in October, and Chapter III should be complete by the end of 2018. All in all, it won't be too long of a wait, so I hope to see you when it's updated.

The following omake is from Makoto Edogawa's POV, also featuring Kaori's mother, rounding out the series about the Miura family.

* * *

 _Omake_

I stood behind the counter in the bookstore, waiting for customers during a relatively slow period. Depending on who you ask, this was my punishment for slacking off in school, or a job I was lucky to have.

Personally, apart from the whole working for peanuts bit, I didn't think it was such a bad job. I couldn't see myself going to school for four or more years, considering how much I hated the previous twelve, and since Dad always said being a cop isn't as cool as it seems on TV, I wasn't keen on following in his footsteps.

A woman in a light pink pantsuit walked up to the counter, with a book in hand.

"Hello, ma'am," I said. "How are you doing today?"

"Quite well, thank you," the woman said. "I'm here on a business trip, and I decided to buy a book as a gift for my daughter."

She handed me the book, and as I rang it up, I got a closer look at it. It was the newest Aiko Aizawa book, the work that made Sae a best-selling author.

"This is an excellent choice, ma'am," I said. "I'm sure your daughter will be proud."

"I'm glad you think so," the woman said. "She's a fan of the series."

I scanned the book and asked for the woman's money, at which point the woman handed over the exact change.

"Here you are," I said.

"Thank you, ma'am," the woman said.

"You're welcome, ma'am," I said. "If you don't mind my saying it, you're really nice for a customer."

"You say that as if I don't have to be," the woman said. "But in all seriousness, I believe in showing respect to everyone, from the president of my company and department head to the office ladies and the people who clean the building, and expect my daughters to do the same."

"I'm sure they will, ma'am," I said. "Have a nice day."

The woman smiled, reciprocated the gesture and left with a spring in her step.


	14. Chapter III, Part 4

_Deadly Life_

As I stood there, once again looking at the dead bodies of my classmates, I could hardly believe what I was seeing, even if it wasn't the first time this had happened. Some of us had our differences, and a few of us hated each other, but most of us a least understood that murder wasn't the way to settle our disputes. Akasaka-san and Yuuki-san were two of the kindest individuals I knew here, and perhaps the first two victims that I had come to see as friends, so I couldn't imagine them killing anyone, much less each other.

Still, there was no denying the facts. The two of them were lying dead on the floor, and we would have to find out who killed them if we wanted to avoid sharing their fate. That harsh truth was driven home when the monitor inside the gallery came on.

"A body has been discovered," Monokuma said. "After a short period of investigation, a class trial will be held."

I turned to Iwasawa-san, who looked white as a sheet- not that I was doing any better. She'd seen two dead bodies before now, but that didn't make finding the next two any more pleasant. Now that she'd been forced to confront the truth about Mitamura-san and watch her execution, she wasn't eager to find out which of us would be the next murderer... assuming, of course, that she wasn't the one.

"So... it's happened again," Iwasawa-san said. "Are you all right, Miss Miura?"

I shook my head and blinked back tears. Perhaps Mitamura-san hadn't quite been friends with Iwasawa-san, but the two girls had been close, so Iwasawa-san understood the pain of loss. Because Iwasawa-san knew this much, there was no point in lying and saying I was fine.

"Truthfully, no," I said, "but this is no time to mourn, so I'll... I'll have to manage. If we can't find out who killed Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san, the rest of us will join them."

Iwasawa-san nodded in understanding, then wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve. Now that I thought about it, Mitamura-san's emotional restraint hadn't been merely a matter of self-discipline or even pride, but of survival. She knew that in situations like this, we'd have to stay rational in order to find the killer, and her undoing was because she'd succumbed to her own insecurities. Perhaps Mitamura-san could no longer be Iwasawa-san's role model, but this was one lesson Iwasawa-san could learn from her.

"For now, please don't touch anything," I said. "I'd like to investigate this crime scene while I can."

I quickly took a picture of Akasaka-san's body, which was just inside the room. Once everyone else arrived, they'd likely have to step around her body in order to investigate the crime scene, thus contaminating the evidence. Before anyone else got here, I decided to observe what I could from the doorway.

The first thing I noticed, apart from the bodies and the blood, was that the open display case- the fact that it was open was obvious enough from the fact that Yuuki-san's corpse had the gun, but the important question was _who_ opened it. The reader showed Yuuki-san's picture, and a time stamp showing 6 AM on the dot. If the clock was correct, then the murder occurred at the start of Akasaka-san's shift, but something seemed odd, and I recalled what Iwasawa-san had told me on the way here.

"I have a question, Iwasawa-san," I said. "While we were walking over, you said you saw Akasaka-san around 6 AM, didn't you?"

"I did," Iwasawa-san said. "Back then, I didn't have any idea that this would be the last time I'd see her alive."

In other words, a mere two hours ago. Even in the killing game, it was still stunning that someone you'd seen alive and well so recently could turn up dead so quickly. Of course, the fact that she was alive at that time was probably important information, so I made a mental note of it.

"Did you see anyone else after that?" I said.

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"Not exactly," Iwasawa-san said. "At 6:45 AM, I started breakfast, and by the time I was finished, I saw everyone besides the two victims and you in there."

"So you didn't see Sugiura-san come back from her shift?" I said. "Or Hoshino-kun?"

Iwasawa-san shook her head twice in rapid succession.

"No, I didn't see either of them," Iwasawa-san said. "After Miss Akasaka left, no one passed through the main lobby until breakfast. Why do you ask?"

"Something's bothering me," I said. "If Akasaka-san reported in for her shift, then the person she was replacing- I'm not sure if it was Sugiura-san or Hoshino-kun, since they switched spots on the sheet- would have come straight back, since that's what I asked of everyone who was on guard duty during Night Time. If they didn't, it's suspicious."

While I believed in continuing Mitamura-san's rules, I believed in the spirit, rather than the letter, so I didn't see any harm in people getting up a little early. Still, if Hoshino-kun or Sugiura-san hadn't returned from their shift, something was suspicious.

Taking a look at the wall behind Yuuki-san's body, I noticed something strange. Instead of the class portrait, it had Tezuka-kun's painting, while the opposite wall had the class portrait. Glancing across the room, I noticed that the trash bag from the garbage can was missing. At first glance, I'd assumed that the trash bag Akasaka-san had been wearing was a spare, but I had to wonder- what had happened to the contents of the can?

"I'm curious about something else," I said. "Did anyone take out the trash here recently?"

"Not at all," Iwasawa-san said. "As my shift ended yesterday, I checked the trash, but found that no one used it at all. People tend to only use the waste cans in their dorms, after all."

The fact that no one had disposed of any trash inside this can wasn't all that hard to believe. Since no one on guard duty left until their shift was over, they couldn't bring in anything that would leave behind trash- wrapping paper, dirty napkins or so on and so forth. Perhaps that did make it easier to search the garbage- I remembered there being a fair amount of trash in the kitchen garbage can at the time of the second murder- but it did make me think about it.

If Iwasawa-san was telling the truth, no one had disposed of any evidence. The garbage bag would be the best way to dispose of anything incriminating, but both apparent murder weapons were still at the crime scene, just like how Sakuragi-kun had left his hammer near Kurogane-kun's body. Perhaps the killer wanted us to find them, or at least didn't think it would cause any problems for their plan.

Shortly afterward, the other eight students arrived, and let out gasps of horror as they noticed Akasaka-san's body- or in Katsura-san's case, a blood-curdling shriek.

"KURO-CHAN!" Katsura-san cried out.

"Y-Yuuki-san…" Edogawa-san stammered.

Katsura-san and Edogawa-san stood there trembling, and I almost expected them to pass out from the shock. From just a glance, one could tell that both of the victims had lost too much blood to be saved.

A moment later, the monitor turned on once again.

"A body has been discovered," Monokuma said. "After a short period of investigation, a class trial will be held."

"Why's it playing twice?" Hoshino-kun said, unusually tense. "We already found the bodies, didn't we?"

"Yes, Iwasawa-san and I did," I said. "Monokuma must be making separate Body Discovery Announcements for each of the victims, but something's odd."

Not only did the Body Discovery Announcement only trigger when three people found the body, the culprit didn't count toward those three. Someone had found one or both of the bodies before Iwasawa-san and I did, but who was it, and why did they keep that secret? Before I could come up with an answer to that, Monokuma appeared.

"All right, folks," Monokuma said. "A new murder investigation with- I mean will- begin again! This time, though, there's a twist- you've got to solve _both_ murders if you want to live! As you all know, there's no partial credit here!"

"Sheesh, what a pain," Tezuka-kun said.

"You should be used to this by now, Tezuka-kun," Monokuma said. "Class trials are strictly pass/fail, and you already know what'll happen when you fail. Puhuhuhu..."

"So the blackened can kill more than one person in a graduation attempt," Inoue-kun said. "What's stopping someone from massacring the entire class?"

"Nothing!" Monokuma said. "I don't know if any of you are enough of a psycho to try something like that, but if you get through this, feel free to give it a shot."

"I think there are reasons why people wouldn't try such a thing, Inoue-kun," Edogawa-san said. "For every murder you commit, your chance of getting caught rises. Besides, it's possible that Sakuragi-kun and Mitamura-san thought they could only kill one person with their own hands, and then convince themselves that Monokuma was to blame for executing the spotless. Perhaps you could justify killing one person to save yourself, but it's much harder to justify letting a dozen or more die for that same reason."

The idea of passing off responsibility onto Monokuma was cowardly, but I had to admit that I'd fallen into it myself, knowing that I'd die if we picked the wrong person, or if I didn't vote at all. In a way, all of us in this room- both living and dead- had voted to execute two people just so that we could stay alive. How many more people would have to die for our continued survival?

"Edogawa-san makes a good point," I said. "Of course, while I can understand why the blackened would be desperate to escape, and might rationalize what their decision might cost us, I don't think anything justifies sacrificing those of us who haven't done anything wrong."

"Miura-san's got the right idea," Monokuma said. "At least one of you bastards is fine with letting the rest of you die to get out of this school... assuming that they're still alive, that is."

It was a chilling idea to consider, but a remarkably simple one. Perhaps Yuuki-san had shot Akasaka-san, who'd fatally stabbed her before succumbing to her gunshot wound, or Akasaka-san stabbed Yuuki-san first, only for Yuuki-san to shoot her before bleeding to death. Or perhaps that was what the culprit wanted us to think.

"But enough throwing out possibilities," Monokuma said. "Your goal's to find who's actually responsible for the murder, so here's the Monokuma File. Happy hunting!"

Monokuma handed me the Monokuma File, then quickly departed. Once he was gone, I began to read.

 _Monokuma File 3_

 _There are two victims this time- Kuro Akasaka, the Ultimate Checkers Player, and Ami Yuuki, the Ultimate Cheerleader._

 _Both bodies were found inside the gallery._

 _Kuro Akasaka's cause of death is a gunshot wound through her heart, with entry and exit wounds. Death is believed to have been instantaneous. No other wounds are noticed on the body._

 _Ami Yuuki's cause of death is blood loss. She suffered a stab wound to the torso and her throat has been cut._

There was a fair amount of information on the cause of death, but nothing on the time of death, so I had to deduce that the time was most important. Once we figured that out, figuring out who could have committed the murders would be a relatively simple task.

"So, Miura," Hoshino-kun said. "You're not going to ask the killer to confess, are you?"

I wasn't about to say yes, and not just because Hoshino-kun's tone made it clear that he found the idea ridiculous. Mitamura-san wasn't necessarily naïve, but the first time she'd made the offer was before we'd realized how gruesome the executions were, and the latter was in order to cover up her own guilt. I had no reason to expect the blackened to come forward, and thus no reason to ask.

"It would be nice if the killer came forward," I said, "but considering what's at stake, I think we all know that isn't going to happen. When something happens for a third time, you start to notice patterns."

"That's right," Hoshino-kun said. "The blackened hasn't given up on living, and neither have the spotless, so we're going to find out who did it. Like Monokuma said, if they're willing to let us all die to get out of here, then I guess it's only fair for us to sacrifice them so that we can survive."

"I know," I said. "But just so the blackened knows- we've found the culprit twice before, and we will do so again now."

Edogawa-san smiled approvingly.

"True," Edogawa-san said. "Of course, I'm sure the culprit knows that, too, and they still think they can get away with murder. Either their confidence is misplaced or ours is. We'll have to see."

"Got it," Hoshino-kun said. "None of us are cops or detectives, but lucky for us, _most_ of us aren't experienced killers, so the blackened probably screwed up somehow. If we're lucky, maybe we'll find out what their mistake is."

Hoshino-kun, being cynical by nature, didn't put have much faith in anyone or anything, even himself. Still, he cared about his own survival, so I hoped he'd do what we needed him to in order for us to solve the mystery.

I looked around the crime scene. So far, no one had set foot inside, so the crime scene was mostly the same as it was when Iwasawa-san and I had found it, but there was no telling how long it would stay that way.

"We'll need someone to guard the crime scene," I said.

"Oh, like Mitamura did?" Hoshino-kun said. "Don't forget, any one- or maybe two- us could be a suspect. Hell, maybe you and Iwasawa are the two culprits."

"That's highly unlikely," Edogawa-san said. "First, only one person can graduate, so Miura-san and Iwasawa-san would have had no reason to plan two separate murders. Second, consider the Body Discovery Announcement rule. If, for example, Iwasawa-san killed Yuuki-san, then I can only think of two other people who would have seen her corpse- Akasaka-san, and Miura-san, assuming Miura-san is Akasaka-san's killer. It's quite hard to believe that an unknown third party also saw Yuuki-san's body and is keeping it secret. At most, one of the two is the culprit."

Edogawa-san's tone was highly skeptical, and it was clear that she was only giving Hoshino-kun's theory the bare minimum consideration. While any of the surviving students, and perhaps the dead ones, could be a suspect for the murder, some were more likely candidates than others.

"I agree," I said. "While it's possible that Iwasawa-san used me as her alibi, or vice versa, I highly doubt that there are one or two other people here who found the bodies and said nothing about it."

Silence reigned for a moment. Perhaps those who discovered the bodies fell under suspicion, but it was far more suspicious to withhold information during a murder investigation, regardless of what sort of evidence it was or one's reasons were.

"In any case," I said, "since there may be up to two blackened, let's have three people guard the crime scene, to eliminate any chance of the two blackened being the only guards. Who would like to volunteer?"

Tezuka-kun, Fukuda-kun and Kagami-kun all raised their hands.

"Very good," I said. "I'll investigate the crime scene. If you can find anything else around the school that could be related to this case, please let me know."

At this point, I couldn't think of any other places that were relevant to the crime besides the gallery. That said, it wasn't wise to prematurely rule out possibilities, so I decided to investigate other places, time permitting.

With the preliminary discussion over, some of the students left, whether to look for additional evidence or because they couldn't bear being in the same room as two dead bodies.

I took a look at Akasaka-san's body. The garbage bag she was wearing had holes cut in for the wearer's arms and head, along with the opening at the top- or bottom, while it was being worn. Of course, while those three holes were quite noticeable, I couldn't find a fourth small hole, where the bullet had entered. I lifted up the bag and inspected the fatal wound. Her shirt and blazer were soaked with blood, although I couldn't tell whether the blood belonged to her or Yuuki-san.

I then inspected Yuuki-san's corpse. Her body was cold, and the blood had stopped flowing, so she'd likely been dead for at least two hours- by comparison, Kurogane-kun and Mizuhara-kun had died mere minutes before I'd found their bodies. Since everyone else had an alibi for breakfast, it was highly unlikely that the killings had taken place after 7 AM.

After several minutes, most of the class was gone, and after Edogawa-san decided to leave to investigate something about the knife, I was the only one in the room besides the three boys guarding the crime scene, so I decided to take advantage of having fewer people around to look around in more detail. I looked at the walls and noticed something odd. Tezuka-kun's portrait was now on the wall behind Yuuki-san's body, where the class portrait had once been.

"I'm curious about one thing," I said. "Did anyone move any of these pictures around?"

"Oh, you mean my painting and the class portrait?" Tezuka-kun said. "I only noticed that they were moved when I came in this morning. Besides, the portrait got a big bullet hole in it."

I took another look and saw that the picture had a bullet hole in it- ironically enough, where Akasaka-san was seated in the front row. Looking through the hole, however, I saw the wall behind it, and not the bullet.

"Anyway, I'm kind of glad," Tezuka-kun said. "If one of my works of art had been damaged, I'd have been pissed."

"Something's odd about this," I said. "Do you mind if I take a look at the wall behind your painting?"

"Go right ahead," Tezuka-kun said. "Just be _really_ careful, OK?"

"Don't worry, Tezuka-kun," Inoue-kun said. "I'll help Miura-san take it down."

With some help from Fukuda-kun, I removed the painting from the wall, making sure not to set it down in Yuuki-san's blood. Once I set it aside, though, I noticed some blood on the back of it.

"Dammit, Miura, I told you to be careful," Tezuka-kun said.

"It's not her fault, Tezuka," Fukuda-kun said. "The blood's already dry, so Miura couldn't have gotten it on the painting just now- it must've been the killer."

"Oh," Tezuka-kun said. "Sorry."

"That's all right, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Anyway, Fukuda-kun, you're saying that the killer was the one who moved the paintings?"

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "I guess you've noticed by now, but Tezuka's painting and the class picture were originally in opposite spots. The killer probably moved it, but I don't know why."

I nodded, then took a look at the wall behind the portrait. I noticed a small smudged bloodstain, which had been made by the wet blood on the painting... and a bullet hole.

"So Yuuki-san's holding the gun, but the bullet came to rest in the wall _behind_ her," I said. "Interesting..."

"What do you suppose that means?" Tezuka-kun said.

"I don't know yet," I said. "I'm guessing that someone didn't want us to find out about the bullet in the wall, but I could be wrong."

"I have a theory," Kagami-kun said. "Do you remember when you fired the gun at the wall?"

I nodded and glanced at the back wall, which still had the bullet hole.

"I do," I said. "Are you saying that it's possible the blackened might be trying to pass off that hole as having been made by the bullet that killed Akasaka-san?"

"That's a possibility," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, the angle is fairly odd, so it's hard to imagine the bullet passing through Akasaka-san and then embedding itself into the wall."

"Maybe the blackened didn't take that into account," Tezuka-kun said. "I mean, we probably wouldn't have caught Sakuragi and Mitamura if they hadn't fucked up at one point or another, right? So it's not like the killer's plan is foolproof, really."

"True," I said. "The person who killed Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san made a mistake somewhere, and we'll have to find out where. For now, though, don't tell _anyone_ about the pictures, OK?"

The others nodded. They were suspects, and I knew what they said about how three people could keep a secret, but at this point, they didn't have any reason not to go along with my request.

I took a look around the room. Apart from where the two victims had died, there wasn't any sign of a struggle, which made it less likely that the two victims had killed each other. Even the schedule was the same as the last time I'd been in here.

"This may sound irrelevant," I said, "but did any of you get a revised schedule?"

The three boys shook their heads.

"Not at all," Kagami-kun said. "Unless either Fukuda-kun or Akasaka-san's shifts changed, there wouldn't be any need for me to know about it. Why do you ask?"

"I got a revised schedule in which Sugiura-san and Inoue-kun switched places," I said. "Since you're on duty in the morning and the other two are on in the afternoon, I don't suppose you'd hear about it. Then again, it is strange, so I'll have to check it out."

I then left the crime scene, in search of Katsura-san. I'd started to gain some understanding of how the murder was performed, so now I needed to find out who did it. There were a few possibilities, and all I needed was some sort of clue to narrow them down.

* * *

While I was looking for Katsura-san, I ran into Inoue-kun… literally. Like a car running a stop sign, he hadn't noticed me approaching from the side, and I stopped too late.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Inoue-kun," I said.

"It's... all right," Inoue-kun said, suppressing a yawn. "I'm sorry; I should've watched where I was going."

"No, the same goes for me," I said.

We took a few steps back and bowed in apology. As I rose, I saw bags under Inoue-kun's eyes. In all likelihood, he'd had, at most, six hours of sleep last night, and possibly the night before.

"Anyway, are you all right?" I said. "You seem really tired."

"Yeah," Inoue-kun said. "I got back at 2 AM, but I couldn't sleep very well, so I got up around 7 AM and headed for breakfast. I then went back to my room to take a nap, but woke up when I heard the first body discovery announcement."

"So in other words, you have an alibi for breakfast," I said, "but not before then."

"Yeah," Inoue-kun said. "Looks pretty bad for me, doesn't it?"

"Well, I have the same predicament," I said, "just like almost everyone else. Then again, since you couldn't have gotten to the third floor without Iwasawa-san seeing you, you're probably not a likely suspect."

Inoue-kun let out a sigh of relief.

"Good to hear," Inoue-kun said. "Still, are you sure it's all right to rule me out like that?"

"I think of it as putting you in the 'less likely' category," I said. "Considering that the murder happened at a time when no one has an alibi, we need to figure out who could have done it, and narrow down the suspects somehow. The murder most likely didn't happen after breakfast, but we'll have to figure out when it could have happened."

"That's right," Inoue-kun said. "Nothing struck me as suspicious between midnight and 2 AM- Hoshino-kun showed up for his new shift on time, and told me that he'd asked for the shift change. If anything happened, it would be at 4 AM, at earliest."

For a moment, I wondered why Hoshino-kun would shift it around so that he was still partnered with Sugiura-san for one shift. Of course, he didn't exactly like any of us- and the feeling was largely mutual- so it's not as though he had anyone he wanted to partner up with.

"In other words, when Hoshino-kun and Yuuki-san were alone," I said. "He's a very likely suspect, but at this point, I don't have any definite proof he did it."

"Neither do I," Inoue-kun said. "For all we know, Sugiura-san also covered the 4 AM-6 AM block."

"True," I said. "I'll have to do some more investigation."

I then excused myself. At this point, Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san definitely seemed suspicious, but I couldn't rule out anyone else- even the dead. There had to be some piece of information to help identify a culprit- it was up to me to find that evidence and understand its significance.

* * *

I tracked down Katsura-san and Sugiura-san, who were looking around the third floor. Apparently, Sugiura-san had just found Katsura-san herself, having searched for her for the same reason I was.

"So, what brings you here, Miura?" Sugiura-san said. "Are you also here to ask Katsura about the schedule?"

"That's right," I said. "Katsura-san, do you remember changing the schedule by switching Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san's shifts?"

Katsura-san shook her head.

"Not at all, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "I wouldn't do such a thing without, at minimum, the approval of everyone affected by it."

Sugiura-san sighed, exasperated. When I saw her around midnight, I'd thought that even if she hadn't proposed the change, she'd at least gone along with it willingly, an assumption I was now starting to question.

"Well, isn't that just great," Sugiura-san said. "I'm used to having my waitressing shifts changed on short notice, so I didn't think anything was too odd about swapping places with Hoshino and going to bed two hours early. That's why I didn't bother asking him about it."

Something was _very_ odd about all this. Someone was clearly lying here, but who? Was Katsura-san lying about not changing the schedule? Was Sugiura-san lying about having a modified schedule? Had Hoshino-kun lied about asking for the change? Or was someone else lying?

"In retrospect, I was somewhat suspicious," I said. "I'd hoped to talk with you about this, Katsura-san, but you were asleep at the time and I didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't try to wake you up."

"I probably wouldn't have answered the door if you had," Katsura-san said. "Considering the rooms are soundproof, any late night guest might have ended up being a murderer."

While I still regretted not checking the schedule sooner, I had to admit that I probably couldn't have expected Katsura-san to open her door for me at that hour. I'd done my best to ensure that we could cooperate, but it still was unwise to fully trust anyone in this killing game. After all, at least one person participating in this endeavor to keep everyone safe by guarding the case had betrayed the group and attempted to graduate.

"Sugiura-san, could you please bring me the schedule you received?" Katsura-san said. "I'd like to check the handwriting. I'm sure I didn't write it, but perhaps if I look at the writing, I can prove I didn't."

"Sure," Sugiura-san said, before turning to me. "I've got to go now, Miura, but Katsura and I will meet up with you at the elevator before the trial. Deal?"

"All right," I said. "In the mean time, I'll head back to my room and get my schedule."

Both Sugiura-san and Katsura-san excused themselves for the moment. Since I didn't know how much time I had left, there was something I needed to investigate while they were busy, even if I wasn't sure how well it would pan out.

* * *

I found Kagami-kun next, while walking through the first floor of the school. While the gallery was clearly the crime scene, some of the other students had fanned out to see if one of the victims might have been killed elsewhere and moved to the gallery. So far, no one was having much luck finding any clues of that, so we were getting close to discarding that possibility.

"Ah, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"There is," I said. "Do you remember who exactly was at breakfast this morning?"

"Everyone besides you and the two victims," Kagami-kun said. "I got to the dining hall first, around 6:40 AM, five minutes before Iwasawa-san arrived, and everyone else came in over the course of the next 15 minutes. I was surprised to see Inoue-kun, considering how sleepy he looked."

"Me too," I said. "After breakfast, do you think anyone went up to the third floor before Iwasawa-san and I did?"

Kagami-kun shook his head.

"No," Kagami-kun said. "I stopped by the rec room after breakfast, and saw Katsura-san waiting in there. If anyone had gone by, she would have seen them."

One convenient thing about the layout of the building is that there was usually only one route to any given point in the school. This would be a nightmare for any sort of emergency evacuation plan, but in a case like this, it wasn't possible for anyone to get around Katsura-san.

"Interesting," I said. "I'll have to ask Katsura-san more about this when she's available."

While it was probably less likely that the killing had occurred between when breakfast ended and when Iwasawa-san and I discovered the bodies, if this tidbit of information was true, it further helped narrow down the time frame.

* * *

Once I returned to my room, I retrieved the list I'd gotten, as well as my original copy of the list. Only Katsura-san would know for certain which was a forgery- assuming, of course, she was being honest- but now that I looked at them, I had to notice that they seemed a bit different.

From what I gathered, the rest of the group hadn't found any evidence outside the crime scene. While I suspected that the blackened was probably just stalling in an effort to seem useful without actually doing anything productive, we had little reason to believe we'd find anything outside the gallery. Of course, there was still a possibility of important evidence in a place we wouldn't expect there to be any, so some people thought it was worth checking out.

Of course, knowing that Monokuma could come on the announcement any minute and summon us to the class trial, I had to make good use of my time, so I proceeded to the last place I wanted to check out.

* * *

I met with Edogawa-san in the kitchen, hoping to figure out whether the source of the murder weapons would offer any clues. Obviously, the gun had come from the crime scene, and the knife most likely came from the kitchen.

"Ah, there you are, Edogawa-san," I said. "Have you found anything?"

Edogawa-san didn't notice me immediately. She had bags under her eyes, clear proof that she hadn't gotten much more sleep than I had, and her eyes seemed bloodshot, as if she'd been crying.

"It looks like a knife was stolen from the kitchen," Edogawa-san said. "Unfortunately, there's nothing to indicate who took it or when."

From my time in the kitchen, I'd gotten a good sense of where everything was, and I quickly noticed a knife missing from the rack on the wall. Of course, even if Iwasawa-san had also noticed that a knife was missing while she was making breakfast, it would have been too late to do anything about it, since both girls were most likely dead by then.

"So it isn't someone's murder weapon," I said. "Katsura-san's the only one we know of who got a knife as a murder weapon, but she wouldn't be so careless as to use hers. The hammer I got is still in its box, and I assume everyone else did the same with their weapons"

"True," Edogawa-san said. "Unfortunately, given the time the murder took place, we don't have many leads. We saw each other around midnight, but we can't prove either of us were in bed at the moment of the murders... whenever that was."

"That's the big question," I said. "After all, it's the missing piece of evidence from the Monokuma file this time, so we'll have to find some other way to prove it."

I realized that there were a few means of narrowing it down, although they depended on the culprit. If Yuuki-san had killed Akasaka-san, then she was still alive when she took out the gun, but if someone else had killed Akasaka-san, then Yuuki-san was almost certainly dead by the time the culprit used her handbook to open the case. In either case, the culprit had taken advantage of the guard system in order to carry out the murder, so I was partially responsible for this tragic turn of events.

"If I may ask, Miura-san, how are you holding up?" Edogawa-san said.

"Not well," I said. "I can still hardly believe that anyone would kill Yuuki-san or Akasaka-san, even to graduate."

"Neither can I," Edogawa-san said. "Of course, it may be better to think in terms of practicality. Both Kurogane-kun and Mizuhara-kun were targeted because it was expedient for their respective killers, and I suspect that Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san are no different."

"I get what you're saying," I said. "Yuuki-san would be easy to kill if the killer knew about her fear of blood, while they could use the gun on Akasaka-san. Of course, I'm not sure who they intended to frame for both killings, unless it was... the victims."

"That's a possibility," Edogawa-san said, "but this time, the killer knew about the Monokuma File, so they'd have reason to expect that the cause of death would be disclosed to us. If they were trying to frame this as a mutual killing, then learning that Akasaka-san died instantly would be as bad for them as learning that Kurogane-kun had died instantly was for Sakuragi-kun."

"Fair enough," I said. "Of course, it's clear that the killer made a mistake somewhere, even if we don't know where or how."

Our discussion was cut short when the announcement system turned on, and we saw Monokuma on the monitor once again.

"It is time for the class trial," Monokuma said. "Please convene in front of the elevator on the first floor."

The monitor switched off. We wouldn't have any problems making it to the elevator in time, but we knew that our investigation was officially over.

"So our time's up?" I said. "The investigation period is never long enough."

"I understand the feeling," Edogawa-san said. "Still, we should be able to find the answer at the class trial."

"I know," I said. "Then again, it feels like the answer is really obvious- maybe a bit too obvious. I'm not so sure about it."

"A reasonable conclusion," Edogawa-san said. "In a class trial in which anyone can be a suspect, you shouldn't get attached to any one theory about who committed the murder or how. Still, with all the evidence at your disposal, we should be able to find the killer. I'm counting on you, Miura-san."

"Thank you, Edogawa-san," I said. "I'll do my best."

I then exited the kitchen. Once again, we'd face a difficult class trial with an unpleasant choice at the end, because my plan had failed to prevent a murder from occurring. Still, it was reassuring that Edogawa-san could count on me, when I'd thought of her as the reliable one for so long, so I decided to do what I could to ensure her trust was not misplaced.

* * *

Edogawa-san and I soon reached the elevator, and before long, the other three girls came. Iwasawa-san was the first to show up, and shortly afterward, Katsura-san and Sugiura-san arrived together.

"I finished looking over the schedules, Miura-san," Katsura-san said, holding up her schedule and the one that she'd received. "The handwriting on the new schedule Sugiura-san received _does not_ match mine."

I looked closely. The handwriting had been similar enough that I'd been fooled, but upon further examination, the two didn't look that much alike. I'd once thought that the newer schedule's rough writing was the result of a hasty job, but perhaps it was a poor attempt to replicate Katsura-san's handwriting.

"Then it's as I thought," I said. "I suppose the same goes for the one I received, doesn't it?"

I handed my schedule to Katsura-san, who took a look and nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes," Katsura-san said. "It seems as though someone fooled us- the only question is who."

Katsura-san glanced warily at Sugiura-san. While it was possible that Sugiura-san had also been deceived, it was also possible that she'd planned things out to murder Akasaka-san and Yuuki-san while giving herself an alibi. Unfortunately, we needed a little more evidence in order to prove or disprove this theory.

"I'd like to ask you one other thing, Katsura-san," I said. "I heard from Kagami-kun that you were in the rec room just after breakfast."

"That's right," Katsura-san said. "I was... w-waiting for Kuro-chan to get done with her shift so we could play c-checkers t-together."

Katsura-san choked back a sob. Like Edogawa-san and I, she'd lost a close friend this morning. She was holding herself together fairly well, all things considered- after all, she didn't have much of a choice- but the reminder of how her friend had failed to show up for their daily ritual reopened the fresh wound in her heart.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Did you see anyone besides Kagami-kun, Iwasawa-san and I come by?"

Katsura-san shook her head.

"No," Katsura-san said. "In other words, the murder couldn't possibly have been committed after breakfast."

"Thank you," I said. "This is important information."

The good news was that while Yuuki-san's murder could have been committed at any point between 4 AM and 7 AM, the time frame for Akasaka-san's murder was much narrower- between 6 AM and 7 AM. The bad news was that there was currently no way of proving who'd actually committed the murder during that time.

The five remaining boys were the last to arrive. Apart from the three on guard duty, they'd all been investigating the third floor when Monokuma had summoned us to the elevator, so they'd had to rush over.

"Looks like you boys are finally here," Monokuma said over the monitor. "Don't you know how rude it is to keep the ladies waiting?"

I found it a bit hypocritical for Monokuma to preach the value of chivalry in spite of, well, everything else he did. Maybe Tezuka-kun and Hoshino-kun needed some lessons in manners, but my mother was probably the best teacher, not Monokuma. I hoped that if we escaped, I could introduce my friends to my parents... and thank them for raising me well.

"Well, I'll let you off this time," Monokuma said, "because the class trial's about to begin, and who knows if there will be a next time?"

After the elevator opened once again, the ten of us stepped inside and rode down to the courtroom. Since a third of us were gone by now, the elevator felt a bit more spacious than before. The murders didn't just cause our numbers to dwindle, though- each death robbed us of a unique personality who brought a bit of life to this dreary school,-and we felt this loss especially keenly now that two of our kindest and most cheerful members were gone.

Kuro Akasaka was the Ultimate Checkers Player. Despite being among the best checkers players alive, she didn't especially relish competition, and especially didn't want to be trapped in a game like this. She was a caring older sister and a good friend, but now, her friends and family would never see her again...

Ami Yuuki was the Ultimate Cheerleader. She wasn't especially bright, at least not in "book smarts," but she was always thinking about what she could do to help others. She cursed her own limitations, but still promised to do everything she could to help us. She'd done her part on guard duty, but somehow, she'd ended up dead...

It was hard to accept that those two girls had died, harder still to accept that one of us had killed them, and hardest of all to accept that these tragedies were almost impossible to prevent. All the same, they'd happened enough for us to realize that there were only two outcomes to this trial- find the killer or perish.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

The good news is that I'm back from my hiatus a bit early, and the trial part will come out relatively soon. The bad news is that Chapter IV needs a bit more work, but since I have more time for writing these days, I'll have more time to work on it.

It's a fairly short investigation, since there isn't a lot of ground to cover- the crime scene is the only really relevant location.

Next up is the trial.


	15. Chapter III, Part 5

_Class Trial_

We returned to the courtroom, which had a mostly olive coloring. There were a total of six portrait memorials up, with the addition of Yuuki-san, Akasaka-san and Mitamura-san. Mitamura-san's X was made with the utmost care and precision- two perfectly straight lines met at 90 degree angles in the exact center, almost as if it was a testament to her perfectionism- what had driven her so far and ultimately proved to be her undoing. This time, someone else's character flaws had led them to kill two people, and we needed to find out who that person was.

"I assume you all know the rules by now," Monokuma said. "This time, however, there're two murders, so you've got to find the right blackened for each of them. Any questions?"

"Yes," Edogawa-san said. "What happens if you have two separate culprits for the murders?"

"Simple," Monokuma said. "In order for the spotless to live, you've gotta get both of 'em right."

"And what about the blackened?" Inoue-kun said. "I recall you saying that it wasn't possible for an accomplice to graduate, so what happens if there's two killers?"

"Well, that's where it gets tricky," Monokuma said. "Y'see, because I can only let one blackened graduate, if there's two killers, then the lucky bastard who graduates has to pin their crime on someone else _and_ find out who did in the other vic. If there's only one, they've got to get away with _both_ murders. Got that?"

"Yeah," Kagami-kun said. "That means that if there's two blackened, they can't trust anyone- not even each other."

As awful and inhumane as the killing game was, this rule did make a certain amount of sense when it came to furthering the game's twisted purpose. Not allowing more than one person to graduate would ensure that any conspiracy to commit murder would end in betrayal. Since the more murders one committed, the more likely one was to get caught, it would make sense that Monokuma would discourage the blackened from killing more than one person- after all, in one of Edogawa-san's novels, the murderer was exposed as a result of his second murder, which he had committed to cover up the first.

The rule also had an unexpected positive in that it made it much less likely for someone to commit murder during the investigation process. Not only was everyone on high alert during the investigations, but even if someone killed a classmate and got away with it, they'd still have to solve the other murder in order to survive. Perhaps those who sought to graduate were willing to put their own lives on the line, but not many people were willing to accept a twofold risk to their life- as a blackened in one murder and a spotless in another.

"Why were there two murders this time?" Fukuda-kun said. "I thought you only needed to kill one person to graduate."

"You do," Hoshino-kun said, "but you also have to be OK with letting everyone else die. Maybe the culprit's enough of an asshole that they don't see the difference between causing someone's death and personally killing them."

When Hoshino-kun put it this way, Mizuhara-kun, Sugiura-san and whoever the blackened this time were extraordinarily selfish, and maybe even somewhat sociopathic. I couldn't completely deny that, but I also knew that they were desperate to survive, which was why I chose not to judge them too harshly. They'd committed murder, a serious crime by any society's yardstick, but Sakuragi-kun and Mitamura-san had also paid for their crimes, as would the newest blackened if we found their identity.

"That may be true, Hoshino-kun," Edogawa-san said, "but as I said earlier, the risk to the killer rises with each murder committed, so it's most prudent to plan one murder."

I remembered this scenario happening in one of Edogawa-san's books. The killer's first murder, against a woman who'd cost him his job, had gone seamlessly, and he'd managed to make the death look like a suicide. At that point, one of the victim's cleaning staff suddenly dropped in, and the killer had to silence an additional witness, inadvertently leaving behind evidence that he'd been here. If there was only one culprit, and we found they were responsible for one of the murders, we'd be able to use their guilt in that case to convict them for the other.

"Monokuma only announced the rule after both killings happened," Sugiura-san said, "so maybe they didn't think about that."

"Perhaps not," Edogawa-san said, "but I wasn't solely talking about that. I have to wonder if one of the murders was unplanned- for example, if the culprit killed Yuuki-san, only for Akasaka-san to catch them in the act, thus forcing them to kill her, too."

"Hmm..." Kagami-kun said. "I agree that a eyewitness would be a significant threat, but can we really trust anyone not to lie about what they've seen? If someone claimed to have seen the murder, they might very well have been the culprit."

"Possibly," Edogawa-san said, "but that testimony would make the blackened a prime suspect, and significantly narrow down the suspects to the blackened and the witness. Perhaps silencing the witness is worth the added risk caused by an additional murder."

"Edogawa-san raises an interesting theory, but that depends on who 'they' is," Katsura-san said. "For all we know, there's two culprits- we can't even rule out Kuro-chan and Yuuki-san."

Katsura-san's voice quavered as she named her dead friend as a suspect. Perhaps she'd committed herself to solving this case to honor Akasaka-san's memory, avenge her death or live on for her sake, but the class trial meant that she'd be unable to mourn her friend until it was over. Even if she made it through, if Akasaka-san was one of the blackened, then Katsura-san would likely never be able to think of her friend the same way again. Since I'd been friends with Akasaka-san and Yuuki-san, I sympathized.

"That's possible," Kagami-kun said. "I personally think we should discuss all the possibilities involved- how many killers there are and when the murders took place- before we work on finding out the identity of the killer or killers."

I nodded. While it was highly likely that Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san had been killed at separate times, I didn't want to get too attached to that theory. For now, it would be best to listen to my classmates, then sort out which theories were possible and which ones were not.

"I think Katsura might be on to something," Tezuka-kun said. "Culprit A killed Yuuki, and Culprit B came in and killed Akasaka."

"That's a possibility," Edogawa-san said, "but there's some problems with that theory. Unless Person A was Yuuki-san's partner, then three people would have discovered Yuuki-san's corpse before Miura-san and Iwasawa-san arrived- the partner, Culprit B and Akasaka-san, the latter of whom would have triggered the Body Discovery Announcement shortly before her own death."

"Still, it's worth considering," Kagami-kun said. "It's possible that there are two killers this time, but if that's true, it's likely that only one of them is still alive."

"Going off what Kagami-kun said, I have a theory," Inoue-kun said. "Akasaka-san murdered Yuuki-san with a knife, but a third party shot her dead."

After a moment, Katsura-san shook her head. As tempting it was to reject the theory out of hand, she had to consider all possibilities in this class trial... and by doing so, she found out that there were a few holes in Inoue-kun's theory.

"I'm not sure about that," Katsura-san said. "If that's true, Kuro-chan's killer would have had to retrieve Yuuki-san's handbook, use it to open the case, grab the gun, and aim and shoot Kuro-chan before she stabbed them with the knife. It's highly unlikely that Kuro-chan wouldn't have noticed if she was the only other person."

"Maybe Akasaka-san wasn't paying attention," Inoue-kun said. "Like Edogawa-san said, it's possible that Yuuki-san's killer- Akasaka-san in this case- didn't expect someone to walk in on them. After all, not only was it Night Time, but Miura-san asked us not to go to the gallery unless we had business there."

I nodded to concur. The reason behind the rule had been that because we'd already thoroughly investigated the gallery, the only reason to be there was to protect the case... or try to open it.

"What Inoue-kun's saying is possible, but not likely," Edogawa-san said. "With two sets of eyes watching the display case and the entrance, it is highly unlikely that anyone could have taken the guards by surprise. If the murder happened around 6 AM, then if the culprit wasn't Akasaka-san, they should have expected Akasaka-san to stop by fairly soon."

"True," I said. "Unless, of course, they wanted to kill Akasaka-san, too, or at least make her out to be the culprit."

"Maybe it's the other way around," Fukuda-kun said. "Yuuki shot Akasaka dead, then the blackened came by and stabbed her, knowing that they couldn't shoot her, too."

"But if Akasaka-san was wearing the trash bag and had the knife, she planned to murder Yuuki-san in advance," Inoue-kun said, "whereas if Yuuki-san took out the gun at 6 AM, during their shift, she did so for self-defense. If this is the case, then it seems more likely that Akasaka-san was the one planning murder."

"That's not a bad point, Inoue-kun," I said, "but please remember that the trash bag came from the crime scene. Even if Akasaka-san wore it while killing Yuuki-san, she couldn't have prepared it in advance, since Yuuki-san was already there when Akasaka-san arrived."

"Oh, right," Inoue-kun said. "Now that I think about it, it's most likely that Akasaka-san was meant to take the fall for the crime- the only question is whose."

Katsura-san nodded, her eyes somewhat hopeful. It was always painful to lose a friend, but even more so to learn that said friend's death had come as a result of killing someone else. If nothing else, the fact that Akasaka-san was most likely innocent of any wrongdoing meant that at the very least, Katsura-san could remember her friend fondly, with none of the conflicted feelings Iwasawa-san had for Mitamura-san.

"That's certainly possible," Katsura-san said. "Another possibility is that someone arrived during their shift and killed both of them, then planted the murder weapons in their victims' hands to make it look like it was a mutual killing."

"Or maybe two people," Hoshino-kun said. "After all, everyone has a motive for wanting to escape."

Something seemed a bit odd about this. Who would wake up in the middle of the night to walk all the way up to the third floor and commit murder? All these theories about a third party killing one or both of the victims had very little to suggest a specific suspect, but for now, all we could do was address any logical holes in them.

"I'm not so sure about it," Edogawa-san said. "As was said earlier, it's unlikely for a single person to kill both guards at once without being noticed. If one of them had been attacked, the other could have run to get help or helped fight off the killer."

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "There's only one entrance to the room, so it's pretty easy to keep an eye on the case and the door at the same time, while also making sure your partner doesn't sneak up on you."

I wondered if I should have told the guards to bring weapons, but I realized that would have been more likely to cause a murder, rather than prevent one. The point of keeping the case under watch was to act as a deterrent to anyone who'd tried to steal the gun.

"But Yuuki was the one who took out the gun," Hoshino-kun said, "and that gun was used to kill Akasaka. If that's true, Yuuki must have killed Akasaka."

"Maybe Yuuki tried to take out the gun to kill the third party," Fukuda-kun said, "only for the culprit to stab her, then use the gun to shoot Akasaka dead."

"That's possible," Inoue-kun said, "but Yuuki-san's body was found some distance away from the case, and she didn't bleed on the case. As such, it's possible that the culprit killed Yuuki-san, stole her handbook and then used the gun to kill Akasaka-san."

"But then what was Miss Akasaka doing during this time?" Iwasawa-san said. "I'm sure she could've made at least a token effort to fight off the culprit."

"Good point," Tezuka-kun said, "why wouldn't the culprit just stab both of them? And why's the bloody trash bag on Akasaka if someone else stabbed Yuuki?"

I was about to suggest that the culprit might have taken it off and put it on Akasaka-san's corpse, but then, Hoshino-kun spoke.

"Simple," Hoshino-kun said. "Like Katsura suggested earlier, Akasaka showed up to her shift, planning on killing Yuuki. Akasaka stabbed Yuuki, only for Yuuki to shoot her dead with the gun before bleeding to death."

I pondered the implications of what Hoshino-kun was suggesting. His proposal accounted for several factors that seemed odd- two murder weapons and two victims, when the culprit only needed one. If it was true, it would certainly explain many of the mysteries behind the case, we wouldn't have to spend all night coming up with who the third party was, and for the first time since we'd come in here, everyone who'd taken the elevator down to the courtroom would be able to leave. It was fairly unlike him, since he'd always brought up the harsh truths, but if he got to live, then of course he'd forward this theory.

On the other hand, a part of me refused to accept that. As naive as it would be to believe that Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san couldn't be killers, given that Sugiura-san had betrayed us in the previous murder case, I realized that someone was counting on us to assume this. They were hoping that we would fall for this trap, and let the true killer go free. It was a harsh truth to accept, but class trials were all about finding the truth, and luckily for me, I'd found a few holes in Hoshino-kun's theory.

"So two would-be killers ended up killing each other," I said. "It's not a bad theory."

"I know," Hoshino-kun said. "It's also what you'd conclude based on looking at the scene, right?"

"Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out," I said. "First, Yuuki-san has a fear of blood. Being stabbed in the chest would have sent her into a state of shock, and Akasaka-san would have been able to stab her and finish her off easily."

"That's a pretty damn big assumption," Hoshino-kun said. "Do you have any facts?"

"The Monokuma File," I said. "My second point is that even if Yuuki-san could have counterattacked, it's unlikely that Akasaka-san would have been able to fight back- it says she died almost instantly from being shot."

"But maybe she inflicted the fatal wound just before being shot," Hoshino-kun said, "and used the garbage bag to shield herself from the blood splatter."

"It's true that wearing the garbage bag would have protected her," I said, "but my third point is that it doesn't have a bullet hole in it, so Akasaka-san was not wearing it when she was shot."

"But she was wearing it when she was stabbed, right?" Kagami-kun said. "If she wasn't, she'd have a lot more blood on her."

"She would," I said, " _if_ she stabbed Yuuki-san. I don't know the specifics yet, but the trash bag was put on Akasaka-san after she died. I find it hard to believe that she'd be able to take it out, put holes in for her arms and neck, and stab Yuuki-san without anyone noticing."

"True," Edogawa-san said. "It's also possible that Akasaka-san- or whoever stabbed Yuuki-san, simply wrapped the trash bag around their arms when committing the murder, rather than wearing it."

In other words, my argument about the trash bag being prepared in advance no longer applied. That said, it was starting to look more likely that the killer was a third party, which was probably why Edogawa-san didn't try to refute my argument.

"Speaking of bullet holes," Tezuka-kun said, "if Yuuki shot Akasaka from the point where she was lying, then the bullet should have gone into the wall on the opposite side of the room, right?"

"True," I said. "It would be one thing if there were a struggle, but the Monokuma file suggested that Akasaka-san died instantly, so it isn't true."

"But didn't you just say that there wasn't a bullet hole in the trash bag?" Inoue-kun said.

"I did," I said, "but there's no doubt that Akasaka-san was shot. At this point, though, it seems unlikely that she stabbed Yuuki-san."

Some murmurs went up, but for now, everyone seemed to accept my theory, tentative as it was. At this point, I didn't have enough proof to accuse a suspect, but I felt as though we were narrowing down the many possible theories.

"I'm curious about one thing," Inoue-kun said. "Where did the knife come from?"

"The kitchen, most likely," Edogawa-san said. "I checked the kitchen, and noticed that it came from the knife rack. Anyone could have gotten it if they'd gone in during Night Time."

"Now that I think about it," Iwasawa-san said," I think I noticed a knife missing this morning, after I met with Miss Akasaka. Maybe she smuggled it out underneath her clothing."

"That's possible," Edogawa-san said, "but at the same time, it's quite simply foolhardy to attempt a knife murder without something to protect against blood splatter. I took a look in the crime scene, and saw the bloodstain from the fatal gunshot wound was quite visible on Akasaka-san's dark shirt and red blazer."

"I agree, Edogawa-san," I said. "Like I just said, if Akasaka-san couldn't have prepared the trash bag in advance, it's much less likely that she went to the gallery plotting a murder. For all we know, the knife was taken much earlier."

While it was almost impossible to identify the person who'd killed Yuuki-san, at this point, the list of probable suspects was rapidly shrinking. It was most likely someone who happened to be on the third floor at the time, someone who'd had business there, but who? The only two suspects had to have known people would suspect them, since they were supposed to be in the gallery around that time.

"So someone else besides Akasaka-san killed Yuuki-san," Inoue-kun said. "But what about Akasaka-san? Yuuki-san was listed as the person who took out the gun."

"As we realized when Monokuma showed us the gun, that could have been done by anyone with Yuuki-san's handbook, not necessarily Yuuki-san herself," Edogawa-san said. "If that's true, then Yuuki-san was killed first, most likely by the same person who killed Akasaka-san."

"There's no way of knowing that," Sugiura-san said. "For all we know, both of them were killed at the same time, since they were both on duty from 4 AM to 6 AM. In that case, they're each other's prime suspects."

I paused, and thought it over, finding the significance of a seemingly useless piece of evidence.

"There is one thing that seemed suspicious," I said. "When I arrived with Iwasawa-san, the Body Discovery Announcement played. It's thus possible that Akasaka-san saw Yuuki-san's corpse before she was killed, and thus became the first person to discover that body. She wouldn't have counted if she was Yuuki-san's killer."

"Ah, that makes sense," Iwasawa-san said. "The people who discovered Miss Yuuki's body were the two of us and Miss Akasaka, while for Miss Akasaka's body, it was the two of us and the first person who arrived at the crime scene.

"I think we can narrow it down somewhat," Edogawa-san said. "At this point, it's most likely that Yuuki-san was killed first, then Akasaka-san, rather than both being killed at roughly the same time. The three people who discovered Yuuki-san's body are Akasaka-san, Miura-san and Iwasawa-san, so none of them are the killers. As for Akasaka-san, it's harder to tell who's responsible, since the body discovery announcement happened after we all arrived."

Hoshino-kun frowned skeptically. Perhaps he was frustrated that the theory that Akasaka-san and Yuuki-san had killed each other had been debunked, but as Edogawa-san had said, it wasn't wise to get too attached to one explanation of any crime.

"Perhaps we should narrow down the times that the crimes occurred," I said. "According to Iwasawa-san, Akasaka-san was still alive at 6 AM, when they saw each other in the dorms. As for Yuuki-san, if her handbook opened the display case at 6 AM, and she wasn't the one who actually used it, she was likely dead by that point."

"And what about Akasaka?" Fukuda-kun said.

"She was most likely killed between 6 and 7 AM, before breakfast," Iwasawa-san said. "I didn't see anyone enter or return to the dorms in the 45 minutes between when Miss Akasaka left and when I started breakfast. After breakfast, Miss Miura and I were the only ones who passed by Miss Katsura on the way to the third floor, apart from Mr. Kagami, who spotted her there."

"I think it all adds up," Hoshino-kun said. "Yuuki was on duty for two hours before Akasaka, so she might have been killed during that period, by the person on duty with her. The culprit then waited for Akasaka to arrive, then killed her as well, setting it up to make it look like they'd killed each other. Isn't that right, Sugiura?"

"What?" Sugiura-san said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Don't play dumb!" Hoshino-kun said. "I know you're the culprit! You waited for Yuuki to show up, then you killed her, then did the same thing to Akasaka when she arrived. The fact that you didn't report back after your shift is suspicious."

Looking around the courtroom, I saw that Sugiura-san wasn't the only one caught off guard by this sudden accusation. Hoshino-kun had reason for suspecting Sugiura-san, but it was still too early to conclusively declare her to be the culprit. In spite of that, he had moved on from his previously steady belief that the two victims were the killers surprisingly quickly.

"You have a point," Iwasawa-san said. "As I said to Miss Miura, I woke up at 6 AM, just in time to see Miss Akasaka leave for her shift. Miss Sugiura, however, did not return until breakfast."

"That's because I was already back," Sugiura-san said. "My shift was two hours earlier last night, since I swapped places with Hoshino."

"That would make sense," I said. "Sugiura-san showed up to replace me."

"And Hoshino-kun replaced me," Inoue-kun said. "If this is true, then Sugiura-san would have returned at some point after 4 AM, while Iwasawa-san and most of us were still asleep."

"Which means she doesn't have an alibi," Hoshino-kun said. "Besides, I left when Yuuki reported in, so it was just her and Sugiura."

"Liar!" Sugiura-san said. "I saw Yuuki show up and replace me. And if I hadn't stopped her, s-she and Akasaka might just be alive."

Sugiura-san choked up a little. Assuming she was right and Hoshino-kun was the killer, this would be the second time her actions indirectly led to the murder. Since I also felt some responsibility for Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san's deaths, I sympathized.

"Are you sure, Hoshino-kun?" Katsura-san said. "I still believe in my theory that a third party killed both Kuro-chan and Yuuki-san, and agree Sugiura-san is suspicious, but isn't she a bit too obvious a suspect?"

"We do have a name for suspects with a shitload of evidence pointing to them," Hoshino-kun said. "It's 'the blackened'- or 'culprit' in layman's terms."

"What I'm saying is that it's just like the last time Sugiura-san was suspected," Katsura-san said. "The killer knew her name was on the original schedule at the same time as Yuuki-san, and just before Kuro-chan, so if neither of them killed the other, Sugiura-san would be most suspicious."

Katsura-san had a point, but I had to wonder for a moment. Framing Sugiura-san seemed like more of a "Plan B" for the culprit, since it was harder to pull off. Not only was Sugiura-san alive to give testimony, but if the revised schedule was the killer's doing and people saw through it, it would put them one step closer to realizing who was responsible.

"That's true," I said, "and there's also the revised schedule. Only Inoue-kun, Sugiura-san and I received it, and it switches Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san around."

I produced my copy of the schedule, and on cue, Inoue-kun and Sugiura-san followed suit.

"Yeah, and I didn't," Hoshino-kun said, "which is why I think it's a load of horsecrap. You wouldn't have made a change like that without informing me, right?"

I nodded. It wasn't surprising that Hoshino-kun would dismiss this piece of evidence, since it conflicted with the theory he had put forward. If he couldn't prove that Sugiura-san was on duty along with Yuuki-san, his argument would collapse... or worse. He wasn't the sort to easily admit that he was wrong, but I'd have to disprove his claims once again in order to get closer to the truth.

"I have a question, Inoue-kun," I said. "Did you tell Hoshino-kun about this? This is important, so please think carefully about it."

Inoue-kun paused, lost in thought a moment, then shook his head.

"No," Inoue-kun said. "I didn't see Hoshino-kun between dinner and when he reported in for his shift."

"Thank you," I said. "Katsura-san, who would you give copies of the revised schedule?"

"At minimum, the people who would be affected," Katsura-san said, "namely, everyone whose times were changed and the people on duty when they report in. If Sugiura-san and Hoshino-kun switched places, I would also need to inform you and Inoue-kun, who are on duty when Sugiura-san starts her new shift, as well as Yuuki-san and Kuro-chan, who are on duty when Hoshino-kun's new shift ends."

"That's important information," I said. "And you said that the handwriting doesn't match yours?"

"That's right," Katsura-san said. "It's close enough that it seems like an approximation, but it isn't mine."

Katsura-san passed around the schedule, along with the revised schedule. Taking a look at both documents side by side, I was able to see that the handwriting was different.

"It's true that they're different," Edogawa-san said when she got the schedule, "but I think they're similar enough that someone reading them would have had trouble telling the difference, even with a copy."

"And what about the three revised copies?" I said.

"The handwriting matches each other," Katsura-san said, "so it's fairly obvious that the same person made each one, even if I don't know who did."

After hearing Katsura-san's testimony and seeing her evidence, I began to understand who the killer was. At this point, there were only two suspects left- this person and Sugiura-san- and now that the latter had been eliminated, the former was the only one left. I'd hoped for a stronger case, but knew that accusing my suspect would be the only way forward.

"Based on what we've discussed so far, I've reached a conclusion," I said. "The person responsible for distributing the false schedule, as well as the person who killed Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san... is you, Hoshino-kun."

Hoshino-kun laughed out loud.

"Very funny," Hoshino-kun said. "I point the finger at Sugiura, and now I'm suspicious just because we don't think she did it?"

"Early on, you seemed fairly convinced that Akasaka-san and Yuuki-san had killed each other," I said, "and only started accusing Sugiura-san once the theory that the victims had killed each other was refuted."

"Yeah, and what's wrong with that?" Hoshino-kun said. "You can't get too attached to one theory in these trials. Sugiura's the most obvious suspect among the survivors, isn't she?"

"She is," I said, "but I noticed that the culprit's efforts were aimed toward making it seem like a mutual killing. By getting Sugiura-san to come in early and swap places with her, your plan wasn't to get her to take the fall for the murder, but to take her spot. Being on guard duty with Yuuki-san allowed you to kill her, and you did the same when Akasaka-san reported in, arranging their bodies to make it seem as though they'd killed each other. Framing Sugiura-san was clearly a Plan B, at best."

I remembered Hoshino-kun's remarks about the blackened not giving up, and saw them in a new light. His plan to pass the blame onto the victims had failed, but giving up would mean being sentenced to death, so he could only do what seemed natural to him- try to frame anyone he could and hope we wouldn't be able to find the truth.

"Yeah, and now, my name's on the schedule, right next to Yuuki's," Hoshino-kun said. "Wouldn't it seem a little too obvious in that case?"

"Not if you don't give it to everyone," I said. "By giving the revised schedule to only a few people, you can ensure that only the people who you need to act according to your plan get a copy. Once the plan's carried out, you can dismiss the entire schedule revision as a hoax. That must be why you didn't make a copy for yourself- you needed to perpetuate the illusion that the schedule had been faked. And that's why you argued against the claim that the schedule had been changed- if people realized that, you'd become the most likely suspect."

"True," Katsura-san said. "Of course, since Miura-san got both the original and the revised copy, she was able to compare them."

I nodded, but inwardly, lamented my negligence. If I'd noticed the fabrication earlier, perhaps I could have said something to Sugiura-san, and maybe even saved Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san's lives. Now, the only thing left was to prove Hoshino-kun guilty so that I could save everyone else.

"That's why I asked Inoue-kun about this," I said. "Considering that you and Sugiura-san aren't on speaking terms, and I hadn't heard about the shift change until midnight, he's the only one who could have told you. The fact that you didn't hear about it from any of the three of us, but still came on time anyway suggests that you were the one who thought of this yourself."

"That sounds most likely," Edogawa-san said. "It also would explain when and how the third party got close to the gun. Once Yuuki-san was dead, the killer used her handbook to unlock the case and get the gun. Once Akasaka-san reported in to replace the killer, the killer shot her dead and left the scene."

"You're still assuming one person did it," Hoshino-kun said. "Didn't Katsura say that there might be two killers this time?"

"I said it was _possible_ ," Katsura-san said, "but at the same time, I agree with Miura-san and Edogawa-san that you're the most likely suspect. Besides, what are you implying?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hoshino-kun said. "Sugiura and Inoue are in cahoots! They were the ones who made up that altered schedule. One of them killed Yuuki and gave her gun to the other, who killed Akasaka. Inoue then threw Sugiura under the bus to save himself."

I almost laughed out loud. Hoshino-kun's Plan A had almost worked, his Plan B was a last-ditch attempt to shift suspicion off himself and his Plan C was just grasping at straws.

"I'm sorry, but that is highly unlikely," Edogawa-san said. "First, if Sugiura-san and Inoue-kun were indeed accomplices, then Sugiura-san would be dangerous to Inoue-kun as someone who knew what he'd done. It would be most likely that he'd kill her to keep her silent. Second, the piece of evidence that helps exonerate Sugiura-san- the existence of a revised schedule- was proven valid when Inoue-kun and Miura-san revealed they'd received the same thing, with matching handwriting. If either of them had remained silent, then we wouldn't have believed Sugiura-san."

"Besides," I said, "you're the only one affected by the change, apart from the victims, who didn't receive a copy of the schedule. If you were trying to make it look like a last-minute change, then you should have been included, too. But you were hoping to pretend that someone else had faked the schedule- or that it would never be brought up in the first place- and so didn't create one for yourself."

From my perspective, it seemed like a grave oversight for Hoshino-kun, but until we'd disproven the mutual killing theory, it was largely beside the point. As long as we assumed that Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san killed each other, it didn't matter who was on duty with Yuuki-san. Now that we proved that the same person killed both of them, however, it was clear that Yuuki-san's first partner was the one responsible for her death- and the revised schedule proved that Hoshino-kun was responsible.

"There's also the fact that I didn't see you come back from your shift," Iwasawa-san said. "If your shift ended at 6 AM, you would probably have come back immediately, but I didn't see anyone besides Miss Akasaka until breakfast. A 45 minute gap gives you more than enough time to commit both murders."

"True," I said. "Hoshino-kun must have known you'd see him if he came back after killing Akasaka-san. If you had, you'd have realized that he was the most likely culprit, especially since he was originally supposed to come back at 4 AM, so he probably stayed somewhere in the school until breakfast."

"Yeah, and what about Miura or Inoue?" Hoshino-kun said. "Maybe one of them came back after their shift was done and killed Akasaka and Yuuki!"

I shook my head. While the blackened would get away if the majority convicted anyone besides them, they usually were best off selecting a fall guy in advance. Hoshino-kun was truly desperate if he was stooping to accusing me- even trying to frame Sugiura-san was clearly his backup plan at best. The fact that he was starting to nervously twitch and raise his voice only further proved that things were not going as he'd hoped.

"That isn't possible," Iwasawa-san said. "As I said earlier, I didn't see Mr. Inoue or Miss Miura leave the dorms between when Miss Akasaka left for her shift and when I started on breakfast."

"And after breakfast, I went to the rec room to wait for Kuro-chan," Katsura-san said. "I caught a glimpse of Kagami-kun, but no one went to the third floor before Miura-san and Iwasawa-san did."

"I agree," Edogawa-san said. "Not only did I see Miura-san return to her room at midnight, exhausted and ready for bed, but if Iwasawa-san can be believed, no one would have left or returned after Akasaka-san reported in for her shift without Iwasawa-san seeing them. As such, there are only two suspects for Akasaka-san's murder- Yuuki-san, who was already dead by this point, and you."

Hoshino-kun bit his lip.

"You are really, REALLY pissing me off," Hoshino-kun said.

Hoshino-kun then reached into his pants and produced something none of us expected to see- the gun that had been used to kill Akasaka-san.

"Nobody move!" Hoshino-kun yelled. "If you don't want a bullet in your head, stay right there and vote for Sugiura!"

"Very funny," Sugiura-san said. "You do know that if you're stooping this low, you've practically admitted that you're guilty?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty piss-poor proposition, if you ask me," Tezuka-kun said. "Either we vote for the wrong person and Monokuma executes us, or you shoot us? Besides, you do know that if you shoot someone, everyone here will know that you're the blackened for that person's death, right?"

"I'm not kidding, asshole," Hoshino-kun said. "Miura, if you don't tell everyone here to vote for Sugiura for both victims, I'm blowing Edogawa's head off first!"

As Edogawa-san smiled confidently, I was taken aback, but then I realized why. She probably knew that Hoshino-kun's threat was empty- he was willing, but not able, to carry it out. I then calmed down enough to remember one thing that I'd heard when this had all begun.

"Go ahead and try," I said.

"Damn, you're cold," Hoshino-kun said. "You do know that with the safety off, a hot piece of metal's going straight through your favorite author's skull the moment I pull the trigger?"

"Not if the clip is empty," I said. "Two days ago, I demonstrated that this gun only has one bullet when I tried to fire it. There's only two bullet holes- the one I made back then and the one you made when you killed Akasaka-san."

"Well, that's a load of crap!" Hoshino-kun said "This thing shot two bullets during the murder- one went into the class portrait, and the other went into Akasaka!"

"No, just one," I said. "The single bullet went through Akasaka-san's body and into the class portrait, which had been on the opposite wall before the murder. If she entered the room, the first thing she'd notice would be Yuuki-san's dead body, enabling you to shoot her from behind. The bullet would pass through her body, into the wall. You then swapped the portraits to make it seem like the bullet went into the other wall, and that Yuuki-san fired the shot."

"That's right," Fukuda-kun said. "I think we've all been in that room long enough to know which portrait was on which wall, so we know you moved it."

"How do you know that?" Hoshino-kun said. "Just because a little blood got on the back? That's such bullshit!"

A bittersweet smile crossed my face. Hoshino-kun's desperate raving had always been detrimental to his case, but it was only now that he'd actually provided me with a piece of decisive evidence.

"Interesting..." I said. "I told the three on guard duty not to tell anyone about the blood that had gotten on the back, something that happened when the killer moved the pictures. Isn't that right?"

Kagami-kun, Tezuka-kun and Fukuda-kun nodded.

"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "After we were done investigating, Tezuka-kun lay his painting against the wall. Hoshino-kun couldn't have seen the bloodstain on the back unless he was specifically looking for it... or when he switched the picture with the class portrait, to make it look like Yuuki-san fired her gun at the opposite wall."

"Sh...Shit!" Hoshino-kun said.

"I think Hoshino-kun has essentially confessed," Edogawa-san said, "but why don't we go over the facts of the case for everyone's benefit?"

"Good plan," I said.

 _The groundwork for the crime started at some point last night, at roughly 10 PM. The culprit slipped a revised schedule under Sugiura-san's door, claiming that they and Sugiura-san had switched shifts. Sugiura-san relieved me at midnight, and two hours later, the culprit showed up to relieve Inoue-kun, who'd also received the schedule._

 _A little before 4 AM, Yuuki-san arrived to relieve Sugiura-san, who returned to her room, not suspecting the culprit had manipulated her into switching places with them. Once the culprit was alone with Yuuki-san, they took out a knife that they'd brought from the kitchen and used the trash bag to shield themselves from the blood splatter. They injured her with a stab to the chest, then killed her with a stab to the throat. The killer then stole her handbook and used it to open the gun case at 6 AM, making everyone think Yuuki-san had done so._

 _At the same time, Akasaka-san, running a bit late, headed for her shift, seeing Iwasawa-san on the way. She headed into the gallery and saw Yuuki-san's corpse against the right wall, becoming the first person to discover the body. The culprit, lying in wait, shot her in the back, killing her instantly. The bullet pierced through her body and came to rest in the wall opposite her, in our class portrait._

 _By this point, both murders had been carried out, and now the killer moved on to disposing of the evidence. The bullet hole would have posed problems for their claim that Yuuki-san had shot Akasaka-san before succumbing to her stab wound, so they covered it up with Tezuka-kun's painting, getting a little of Yuuki-san's blood on it in the process. They draped the bloody trash bag over Akasaka-san to make it look like she'd used it to shield herself from the blood splatter, and quickly headed back to their room. Unfortunately for them, Iwasawa-san, an early riser, was waiting in the dorms. The culprit didn't want to be seen coming back long after they were due, not long after the murder had occurred, so they didn't go back into the dorms until breakfast. Once breakfast started, they joined everyone else there, except for Inoue-kun and I, who were still asleep, making it seem as though they'd just gotten up._

 _After breakfast, most of the others remained on the first floor or in the dorms, while Katsura-san waited for Akasaka-san in the rec room. At that point, I walked Iwasawa-san to her shift, and found the two victims dead, at which point the Body Discovery Announcement played for Yuuki-san. The rest of the class came running, the killer included, and when they arrived, the Body Discovery Announcement played for Akasaka-san. The culprit hid among us, confident that their plan to frame the dead victims, or failing that, Sugiura-san, would succeed, not knowing that the evidence pointed back to them._

 _Does that sum it up, Sora Hoshino-kun?_

"Like hell it does!" Hoshino-kun said without missing a beat. "Do any of you honestly believe that steaming pile of bullshit?"

"Oh, I most certainly do," Sugiura-san said. "I believe you killed Yuuki and Akasaka."

"So do I," Katsura-san said. "Miura-san presents a compelling case."

"I agree," Edogawa-san said. "I have analyzed the evidence myself and arrived at the same conclusion."

"I think so, too," Tezuka-kun said. "That's five votes already, Hoshino, and I don't think anyone else besides you is saying that Sugiura did it."

Our remaining four classmates nodded.

"It looks like we, with one notable exception, have come to a consensus on the culprit's identity," I said. "I think it's time for this trial to come to an end."

"AN END?!" Hoshino-kun screamed. "FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH! IT'S OVER WHEN I SAY IT IS!"

Hoshino-kun then pointed his gun straight at me and pulled the trigger, but all he did was make a clicking sound. He continued pulling the trigger in a desperate and ultimately pitiful exercise in futility- you know what they say about repeating the same action and expressing different results.

"Good to hear!" Monokuma said, ignoring Hoshino-kun. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

This time, there were two voting prompts- first, we were asked who killed Yuuki-san, then who killed Akasaka-san. Both times, almost everyone put in the same answer- eight people voted for Hoshino-kun, and one person, presumably Hoshino-kun, voted for Sugiura-san.

After both votes, the video poker screen played once again, showing Hoshino-kun's face in all five card slots twice in a row, and the "GUILTY" sign.

* * *

The courtroom was silent once again. Hoshino-kun had screamed "FUCK!" when he'd been successfully identified as Yuuki-san's killer, thus sealing his fate, but had faintly sighed when the same had happened for Akasaka-san. His being convicted for Akasaka-san's death meant nothing to him- it only meant that once again, the spotless would survive by sacrificing the blackened's life.

"That's two for two here!" Monokuma said. "The blackened this time, the culprit who killed Ami Yuuki-san and Kuro Akasaka-san is... Sora Hoshino-kun!"

Hoshino-kun laughed bitterly for several seconds, until he was almost out of breath, then took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Well, I've gotta hand it to you guys," Hoshino-kun said as he composed himself. "I didn't think you'd be able to finger me on one of the murders, but you got me on both."

"Given the rules and the circumstances of the murder, it's most likely that whoever killed Yuuki and stole her handbook also used the gun to kill Akasaka," Sugiura-san said. "It just so happens you're that person, not me."

Edogawa-san was correct that two murders increased the risk to the culprit- in fact, Hoshino-kun staying in the gallery and killing Akasaka-san helped us identify him as the culprit. Of course, while the risk of getting caught increased each time, the stakes did not.

"Why, Hoshino-kun?" Katsura-san said. "Why did you kill them?"

"It was pretty convenient," Hoshino-kun said. "For starters, both Yuuki and Akasaka were in an early morning slot, so everyone else would be asleep while they were on duty. Not only was Yuuki afraid of blood, but she didn't notice me getting the trash bag out to shield my arms and wrists until it was too late. As for Akasaka, I killed her to make it seem like a mutual killing. I'd have been found out a lot quicker if Yuuki was the only one who'd died."

I briefly imagined this turn of events. If Hoshino-kun had killed Yuuki-san, then we could simply have checked the schedule to see who was on duty with her. While it would have been Sugiura-san's word against Hohsino-kun's, the fact that he made the altered schedule and didn't give himself a copy probably would have sealed his fate.

"She wasn't asking _how_ ," I said, "but what reason you had for killing two people who'd done nothing to deserve it."

"I've been here long enough to know that nothing was going to change," Hoshino-kun said. "When something happens for a third time, you notice a pattern, after all."

I was stunned for a moment, hearing my words thrown back in my face like that.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Do you really need me to explain it to you?" Hoshino-kun said. "There were three times, including when we found ourselves here, that we investigated an unfamiliar area in hopes of finding a way out. The past two times, someone committed murder in order to escape after a few days. Rather than bet on the slim chance of finding a way out, I chose to bet my life on graduating. If I succeeded, I'd get out of here, and if I failed, then at least this farce would be over."

While we'd been concerned about how the various motives would affect us, and induce us to kill, not everyone had considered the long-term ramifications of this killing game. Over time, our resolve would probably wear down, and eventually, we'd probably decide that if the alternative was all of us being trapped here forever, we might as well graduate, and at least one of us could live. This line of reasoning would make sense... assuming you were cold-hearted enough to think of eleven or more innocent people dying as a necessary sacrifice for your freedom.

"That's your reason?" Fukuda-kun said. "Not for family, friends or loved ones, but _yourself?_ "

"What's your point, Fukuda?" Hoshino-kun said. "That I'd be less selfish if I wanted to escape for the sake of others, rather than myself? I don't give a rat's ass about your family, your friends, or the other people important to you, not any more than you do about mine. So don't kid yourself- doing something for the sake of the people _you_ care about isn't completely altruistic."

Everyone remained in stunned silence for a moment, since Hoshino-kun's rebuttal was technically true, but it didn't in any way justify his murders.

"Did you really have to kill two people?" Edogawa-san said. "In the best outcome, three people- yourself included- would've died because of your murder plan."

"Besides," Kagami-kun said, "Like Monokuma said, you'd only have succeeded if you'd gotten away with both murders."

"Well, yeah," Hoshino-kun said. "Like I said, Plan A was to make it look like they'd killed each other, while Plan B was to frame Sugiura. Obviously, the former works better, since dead people can't argue for their innocence, and the latter would make me a suspect if she cleared her own name."

"That's right," Sugiura-san said. "Sakuragi underestimated Miura's ability to clear her name, just like how you and Mitamura underestimated mine."

"Yeah, and all three of us underestimated Miura and Edogawa," Hoshino said. "But to think I fucked up almost the exact same way Mitamura did..."

Hoshino-kun laughed out loud, apparently finding some genuine humor in his impending demise. He'd never gotten along with Mitamura-san, but that didn't mean he didn't have anything in common with her, or that he wasn't able to see that. Perhaps in another time, another place, the two of them might have formed an understanding, even if they'd probably never become friends.

"Anyway, if I'd graduated, the rest of you would have died," Hoshino-kun said, "so it wouldn't have made any difference if one or two people kicked the bucket a little earlier than the others. Sakuragi and Mitamura knew this, too, but tried to cover up their crimes until they couldn't deny it anymore. When you think about it that way, I'm not that much more of a prick than them- just more honest about being willing to let you all die to get out of here."

"I can't deny what you're saying," Iwasawa-san said. "It's true that Miss Mitamura, someone I admired, selfishly killed Mr. Mizuhara and was willing to let us die for the sake of her reputation. I can't deny that, even if I'm still grateful for how she's helped me. At the very least, though, she understood that she'd done something terrible, something that most of us could never forgive, and accepted her punishment."

"Yeah, _after_ she got caught," Hoshino-kun said, "and she never owned up to how she'd want to graduate, anyway. Our current situation- stuck in this school, without anything productive, educational or fun to do, isn't much better than being dead. You call this school a prison, but it's more like a tomb, if you ask me."

I didn't know what to say to that. Like all of us, my life was on hold for as long as I was trapped in here. I'd tried to avoid letting that fact drive me to do anything I'd regret, but that didn't mean I didn't feel it, too. Of course, as long as we failed to find a way out of here or identify the mastermind, nothing had changed. I'd been so busy making sure that the gun stayed out of the wrong people's hands that I hadn't had any time to actually think about our problems.

"So congratulations!" Hoshino-kun said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm going to die, but you all get to keep on 'living' in a sense, at least until one of you does a better job with their murder plan than I did. Have fun with that."

"I... didn't want to do this," Katsura-san said. "But while it may be fine to for me make a decision that costs me my life, it's quite another to make one that costs other people theirs. By killing Yuuki-san and Kuro-chan, you've caused suffering to their friends and families."

"I know," Hoshino-kun said ruefully, the closest he'd ever gotten to apologizing. "What's done is done, though, and there's one thing left for me to do- take my execution like a man. The last thing I want is to give any of you the satisfaction of seeing me crying or begging for my life."

"We'll see about that," Monokuma said. "If you're ready, then let's get this show on the road."

Most of us were quiet, silenced by their dread of what was to come, but I, however, had one last thing to say to Hoshino-kun before it was too late.

"One more thing, Hoshino-kun," I said. "You could be very unpleasant even in the best of times, and I doubt I can ever forgive you for killing Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san. That said, I've always respected your willingness to tell it like it is, even if you aren't exactly diplomatic about it."

"You don't pull any punches, do you, Miura?" Hoshino-kun said with a chuckle.

"You're the last person I want lecturing me about that," I said.

"Good one," Hoshino-kun said, with a surprisingly genuine smile. "There's hope for you yet."

"Thank you," I said. "Just like with everyone else, I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

A lot of the people I'd met had the capacity to surprise me. Edogawa-san was a lot more down-to-earth and had a better sense of humor than I thought. Mitamura-san had a cynical and selfish side that her image, one that was at odds as a perfect honors student and thus one she could never willingly show. Sugiura-san had a hidden talent and a persona that she kept under wraps... and even beyond that, seemed more capable of feeling guilt than one would expect from a supposed cold-hearted killer. As for Hoshino-kun... maybe he could actually say halfway nice things once in a while.

My thoughts were interrupted as Monokuma finally announced the execution.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Astronomer," Monokuma said.

"So this is how it ends, huh?" Hoshino-kun said, gazing up at the ceiling. "I only have one regret- I wish I could've seen the stars one last time."

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

 **Game Over**

 **Hoshino-kun has been found guilty.**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

 _The Ultimate Astronomer, Sora Hoshino's Execution: Executed_

 _A Magnify-cent End_

* * *

Hoshino-kun lay on a field of dark asphalt that looked like a parking lot without any spaces marked, looking up at the stars, an artificial representation of the night sky. Suddenly, the sun began rising in that artificial sky, and the stars were no longer visible, obscured by the light of dawn.

As the sun raised up in the horizon, Monokuma, wearing a jetpack, flew up, and hoisted an incredibly large telescope lens. As the lens picked up the sun's light, Hoshino-kun, immediately recognizing the danger, began fleeing.

An intense beam of light shot out, slowly making its way toward Hoshino-kmun Hoshino-kun began running madly, with the desperate intensity of someone who'd commit murder just to return to the outside world, but the light pursued him. Light could travel over a hundred thousand miles in the blink of an eye, and the only reason it hadn't caught up with Hoshino-kun was because Monokuma hadn't aimed it at him yet.

But Monokuma eventually found his mark when Hoshino-kun slipped on a pile of oil, barely visible on the dark asphalt, and fell on his back. The beam of light quickly caught up, setting the oil ablaze- and Hoshino-kun along with it. As Hoshino-kun lay there, burning alive, an invisible trail of oil was set alight, spreading the fire to other large pools of oil. As the camera zoomed out, I recognized a pattern in the burning oil- the constellation Ursa Major.

Eventually, the flames went out, and we saw Hoshino-kun lying in the central star, reduced to a charred skeleton.

* * *

We watched in silence once again, Hoshino-kun's scorched remains burned into our memories, and his last words echoing in our minds. Hoshino-kun had never been very popular, since most of us only grudgingly tolerated him, but no one could deny what he'd said.

As always, successfully getting through a class trial was a hollow victory, in which the only saving grace was that we were still alive. We were once again reminded that our lives lay in Monokuma's hands, and that any one of us could betray the group in a bid for freedom. Hoshino-kun had always known and never denied this, which is why we often found it hard to accept what he was saying.

"And another one bites the dust," Monokuma said. "It's kind of amazing how far all of you are willing to go to get out of here considering what you don't know about the outside world."

"Right, and I suppose your 'motives' have nothing to do with it," I said. "I can't speak for the others, but I want to get everyone out so they can return to a place where they're safe, and not encouraged to kill each other to survive."

"Safe, huh?" Monokuma said. "Puhuhuhuhu! I wonder whether you'll keep up that attitude once you learn about what's going on outside."

I didn't know what to say to that. Monokuma clearly knew something- or perhaps many things- that we didn't, but it was still hard to fathom the world changing so drastically in two years. What sort of world would allow us to be forced into a game in which we killed each other, and how much of what we knew would still be intact? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I most likely wouldn't like the answers to those questions.

"Oh, and before we forget, I'm adding a new rule," Monokuma said. "Threatening or attacking any students or yours truly during a class trial will immediately be punished with death. I don't want any repeats of this incident, even if Hoshino-kun was just bluffing. Besides, it's no fun if everyone knows who the killer is."

I took out my handbook, and saw the new rule- "Attacking or threatening students or Monokuma during a class trial is strictly prohibited. Violators will be summarily executed."

"So that's because the mastermind might be one of us, isn't it?" Edogawa-san said. "It would be a problem for you if they came to harm, wouldn't it?"

"And an even bigger one if you found out who they were," Monokuma said. "But I'm sure you've guessed that they're not one of the dead ones this time. There's only just over half of you left now, so if you want to make a lucky guess, it'll be a lot easier. Until next time!"

Monokuma disappeared once again.

I found myself in the same position as Mitamura-san had been at the end of the first trial- forced to live with the knowledge that a murder had occurred in spite of my best efforts. I had to wonder- perhaps Mitamura-san had been desperate to keep her cheating secret, but was it possible that she wanted to erase the shame of two classmates dying on her watch? In the end, only she knew.

"I'm sorry, everyone," I said, bowing deeply. "I should have foreseen someone taking advantage of the system and committing a murder at Night Time, when no one had an alibi."

"Please don't blame yourself, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "In fact, it's because of the schedule and Hoshino-kun's attempt to alter it that we were able to find out who was responsible."

"The entire point of my plan was to avoid having this happen," I said. "I can't help but feel as though what I did only made things worse."

"But at least you did something," Iwasawa-san said. "I've been thinking these past few days, and I remembered why I looked up to Miss Mitamura so much- she was always the one who helped me out, the one who tried to make sure we worked together, and the one who believed we could all act like decent human beings, even in a situation like this. Maybe she did it for selfish reasons- the same reasons why she killed Mr. Mizuhara- but I respected her willingness to help us as our leader, which is why I was glad that you did the same thing."

I nodded appreciatively. I probably wouldn't have stepped up to lead if Iwasawa-san hadn't encouraged me, so I was grateful that she hadn't given up on me- or the idea of someone helping ensure we had some semblance of unity.

"I know," I said. "I haven't given up- I promise I won't let this happen again."

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"Please don't promise us that, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said, "since that's only dependent on _all of us_ doing the right thing. Instead, please promise that no matter what happens or how many more of us die, you won't give up or stop trying to do what you believe to be best for us."

"I promise," I said. "I swear I'll get as many of you out of here as I can."

"That's better," Iwasawa-san said. "I'll do everything I can to for the sake of helping you achieve that goal."

The others nodded in agreement. My goal wasn't any more realistic or achievable than it was before, but I wasn't alone in wanting to achieve it. I didn't know who the next blackened would be, or who they would kill, but I believed that none of the survivors who'd come this far and sacrificed so much would simply betray the group and commit murder simply to survive.

The nine of us boarded the elevator and rode up once again. Once we were back on the first floor of the school, I checked my watch and noticed that the hour hand was between 12 and 1. While my watch didn't distinguish between AM and PM, and we couldn't see outside, I could tell that only a few hours had passed, and it was only early afternoon, not Night Time.

"You know, I think this is the first time a trial let out before night," Tezuka-kun said. "So, what now?"

"Let's continue investigating the school until dinner time," I said. "If you need lunch, help yourself to something from the fridge or snack machine- I'm personally not hungry right now, and I think some of us need some time alone."

Katsura-san nodded, before running off to her dorm room, tears streaming down her face. The others walked off, one by one, and after a minute or so, Iwasawa-san and Edogawa-san were the only ones left.

"I'll let you have some space if you'd like, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said, "but I'd like you to know that I'm praying for you."

I bowed deeply, and said "Thank you very much, Iwasawa-san." It hardly mattered that I didn't believe in God- Iwasawa-san did, and her faith was what gave her gesture meaning. With a smile, and a "Hang in there," Iwasawa-san left, and Edogawa-san and I were alone.

"Do you remember when Yuuki-san suggested writing a book?" I said.

"I do," Edogawa-san said. "I think she regretted that her suggestion caused an argument, not the suggestion itself."

"That's the problem," I said. "Her intentions were good- ensure this the people who died were remembered and maybe raise some money for their families- but her suggestion wasn't received the way she'd hoped it would be."

"Not at all," Edogawa-san said. "Still, I do agree with the principle, so I would like to see the book be written."

"And what about her other suggestion?" I said. "Do you still think the victims' families should get money? Including the Hoshino family?"

"Absolutely," Edogawa-san said. "Yuuki-san would've wanted it, anyway."

Edogawa-san choked back a sob as tears began to stream down her face, and I immediately recognized the significance of it. Even outside the killing game, we'd been accustomed to holding ourselves back to some extent, not showing strong emotions in public or in front of people who might judge us for doing so. It was a necessary façade, one that Edogawa-san had worn well, but now the death of a friend had broken it.

I held Edogawa-san as she wept, and before I realized it, I was crying, too. Kurogane-kun's murder had been a tragedy, Mizuhara-kun's murder had been a sobering reminder about how easily we could be betrayed, and Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san's murders proved once again that all our efforts to stop the killing game amounted to nothing. Seven of us had died already, and some of us had lost friends or people we admired, and the mastermind responsible for all this was among those still alive. But even so, people I'd come to care about were among them, too, which is why I swore to find the mastermind and end the killing game.

* * *

 _End of Chapter III_

 _Students Remaining: 9_

 _ **Miniature Telescope** : A memento of Hoshino. He says it's nothing more than a toy he played with as a kid, but for some reason, he always kept it around..._

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

While I was writing this, I wondered if Hoshino was too obvious a culprit. Being the kind of person he is, he makes no secret that he wants to escape and doesn't care all that much for anyone else, even if he has a certain degree of respect for Kaori's honesty. I did try to make sure that he wouldn't be found out immediately, since part of the mystery is finding out whether Kuro and Ami killed each other, or someone else killed them.

You may notice that the rules seem to vary from killing game to killing game. For example, while V3 introduces the "first come first served rule," (probably to simplify finding the culprit in cases of multiple murders) if this had happened in the first game, Celeste wouldn't have to be executed, since Hifumi would have been the blackened. I made the rules this way to make it more difficult for everyone involved in a double murder- the blackened has to get away with both murders, while the spotless have to solve both murders.

This chapter's a bit early, and part of the reason was that I had it written up, and wanted to focus on Chapter IV. I've had to significantly rework the murder for that chapter, so the latter half (parts 4-6) may take a while to finish.

For an omake, here's a Scrum Debate, with the relevant terms bolded. Character opinions don't necessarily represent what they actually said or thought during the class trial. Again, I generally don't do "gameplay style" Class Trials, but wanted to show what a Scrum Debate, one of my favorite parts of V3, might look like here.

* * *

 _Omake_

 **SPLIT OPINION**

 **Who killed Akasaka and Yuuki?**

 **Each Other:** Hoshino, Sugiura, Inoue, Fukuda, Tezuka

 **A Third Party** : Miura, Edogawa, Katsura, Kagami, Iwasawa

* * *

 **Hoshino** : Yuuki got stabbed, shot Akasaka, then got stabbed again before **Akasaka died**.

 **Katsura: Kuro-chan died** instantly, so she couldn't have attacked Yuuki-san after being shot.

 **Sugiura** : But surely Yuuki could have shot Akasaka before **bleeding** to death?

 **Edogawa** : Yuuki-san is afraid of blood. **Bleeding** so much would have sent her into shock.

 **Inoue:** But **t** **he display case** shows that Yuuki-san opened it. Who else could have used the gun?

 **Kagami** : Anyone could have opened **the display case** with Yuuki-san's handbook.

 **Tezuka:** Yuuki could've opened the display case at **6 AM** and blown Akasaka away when she arrived.

 **Iwasawa:** Miss Akasaka hadn't arrived by **6 AM.** If Miss Yuuki opened the case, her partner would have seen her.

 **Fukuda:** But how could the two victims have been killed at **two different** times?

 **Miura:** There were **two different** Body Discovery Announcements. Akasaka-san must have found Yuuki-san's body before being killed.


	16. Chapter IV, Part 1

**Chapter IV: Paved With Good Intentions**

 _Daily Life_

Not much happened for the rest of the day. We more or less went through the motions, but didn't feel up to doing any real investigation of the third floor. We'd already spent the past few days on that, and could do so again after we were able to go to the fourth floor.

After Edogawa-san and I parted ways for the moment, I found Tezuka-kun in the gallery, looking around. The dead bodies, the blood and even the bullet holes(both Hoshino-kun's and mine) had all been removed in Monokuma's most miraculous cleaning job yet, and both Tezuka-kun's painting and the class portrait were back to their original positions. The display case was once again closed, and the gun was no longer there, since Hoshino-kun had taken it with him when he was executed. It was almost enough to make us forget that two of our friends had died in this room.

"Oh, hi, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "Sorry I fucked up back there and let Hoshino steal the gun from the crime scene- we were in a bit of a hurry to get to the elevator."

"I don't blame you, Tezuka-kun," I said. "You and your fellow guards' job was to prevent people from tampering with the crime scene while we were investigating, and you succeeded. Besides, by threatening us, Hoshino-kun helped prove his guilt."

"That's right," Tezuka-kun said. "Of course, it's kinda hard to tell how well we did now that the crime scene's back to normal."

"I've noticed," I said. "Monokuma even got the blood off your painting, or maybe he replaced it with a replica."

Tezuka-kun shrugged. He'd gotten angry when he'd first seen the blood on his painting, but now that we'd won yet another hollow victory in the third class trial, he couldn't even manage relief that his work of art was once again in pristine condition.

"Is something wrong?" I said.

"I'm gonna be honest," Tezuka-kun said. "I wasn't all that close to Yuuki or Akasaka, but it still hurts a bit knowing that they're gone."

"I know," I said. "I don't think anyone disliked them, not even Hoshino-kun, so I could barely imagine them being murdered."

Tezuka-kun nodded. I noticed that while he was looking in the direction of his portrait, his eyes seemed to be looking off into the distance, as if to wherever Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san's souls had gone after their deaths.

"One time, before the motive was introduced, I showed Yuuki my painting," Tezuka-kun said. "She said it was 'pretty,' and, when pressed, that 'the thing with the shadows is cool.' She was kind of dumb, but these were pretty much the best compliments she could come up with without pretending to have a deep appreciation of art, so it felt like she meant what she said. Akasaka saw it, too, and said it was better than anything she could've done herself- she was probably right."

"Wow, that was blunt," I said with an awkward chuckle.

"You know me," Tezuka-kun said, grinning. "I'm not nearly as much of a jackass as Hoshino was, but I don't just say nice things for the sake of being nice. That said...yeah, I really do miss those girls."

"So do I," I said.

We looked over the former crime scene together for a little while- the only thing that had gone back to normal after the trial- and as I looked at my reflection in the display case, I saw that my eyes were still red from crying. Tezuka-kun probably noticed, too, since when I left, he saw me off with a "Hang in there," and I thanked him for that.

* * *

I headed back downstairs. On my way back, I ran into Inoue-kun and Kagami-kun, both of whom apologized for their negligence in their departure from the crime scene. In response, I simply told them what I'd told Tezuka-kun.

At dinner time, we met up to discuss the trial. Now that there were only nine of us left, we all sat around the large table.

"Does anyone else feel as though we're missing something?" Inoue-kun said.

"I can think of a few things," Edogawa-san said. "Yuuki-san's exuberance certainly comes to mind."

"Yes," Katsura-san said, "as does Kuro-chan's kind and friendly demeanor. Not many of us could think of others as much as those two did."

"True," I said. "Of course, while Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san are dead, we can serve to carry on their example, and treat others the same as they would have. I'm sure that's what they would have wanted if they'd come back up the elevator with us."

The others nodded, but Fukuda-kun seemed a bit distracted, as if he was waiting his turn to speak.

"Good to know we're thinking about the victims," Fukuda-kun said, "but what about their killer?"

"If you're trying to get me to feel bad that Hoshino's gone, give it up," Sugiura-san said. "Maybe I'm more than a little bitter that he killed Yuuki and Akasaka, then tried to frame me for it, but you can't deny that he was an asshole who was willing to let everyone sitting here die just to save his own hide."

"No, I'm not saying that," Fukuda-kun said. "I just..."

Fukuda-kun trailed off, looking a bit ashamed of himself.

"Sugiura's right about Hoshino being an asshole," Tezuka-kun said, "but he was also an asshole who had a lot of good points. Maybe he was right so often that it went to his head or maybe we hated him because he was right about a lot of stuff that we didn't want to admit was true. I'm not really sure."

I nodded. Committing murder and letting everyone else die just to escape alone was selfish, and Hoshino-kun was mostly unrepentant about that, but he also had no illusions about what his attempt to graduate entailed. Maybe if he understood what was involved and did it anyway, he really had been that desperate to escape. We didn't always care for the way Hoshino-kun said the things he did, or even everything he said, but we could at least respect his having the courage to say it.

"Good question," I said. "In any case, for all his flaws, Hoshino-kun saw our situation for what it was, and wasn't shy about telling us the truth. Maybe that's why he saw killing two people and graduating as his only way out."

"Nailed it, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "I never really liked the guy, but I could respect him, so maybe it's up to me to fill his role. You can help, too, Sugiura- you and Hoshino have more in common than you think."

"You've got some nerve to say something like that to my face, Tezuka," Sugiura-san said with a chuckle, "but you're not wrong. I might repress how I feel a lot of the time, but giving people a piece of my mind's the only thing I'm good at besides cooking and waitressing."

Tezuka-kun grinned from ear to ear.

"I just tell it like it is," Tezuka-kun said. "One time, in school, I got asked to do an art criticism piece- evaluating the work and giving my opinion on it. Unfortunately, I had to review a pretentious pile of crap, but I tried to do an art analysis like they do in magazines."

"How did you do?" Inoue-kun said.

"I showed my rough draft to a friend of mine," Tezuka-kun said, "and he told me it really sucked- more to the point, that I was trying to write like someone else. He told me I'd be better off doing it the way I always do, and I did. I ended up getting a pretty shitty grade on it, but hey, I gotta be me."

"It sounds as though your friend was doing the same," Edogawa-san said. "By giving you the harsh but necessary truth that your approach to writing the critique didn't work, he managed to get you to play to your strengths."

"Pretty much," Tezuka-kun said. "We're old enough that even if we don't have Ultimate talents, we've got a pretty good idea what we're good at and not good at. You should probably work at the things you're not so hot in if you have to, but you're probably better off making what you're good at even better."

I nodded, and we soon started to reminisce about the victims. For better or worse, we all had traits that led us to kill- Sakuragi-kun's inability to give up his dreams, Mitamura-san's obsession with being perfect, and Hoshino-kun's cynicism- but we couldn't cast those flaws aside, only work to overcome them. I couldn't change the fact that I failed to prevent a murder, or that I might not be able to prevent the next one, but I wasn't about to give up, either.

* * *

About an hour before the Night Time announcement, I met up with Edogawa-san as we bought snacks together.

"If I may ask, Miura-san, how are you holding up?" Edogawa-san said.

"I've been better," I said. "I realize that wallowing in guilt over everyone who died today won't do any good, but I also want to make sure that there won't be another murder. Unfortunately, the only way I can do that is to find the mastermind, and I don't have any clues."

"Do you have any suspects?" Edogawa-san said.

I shrugged. I wondered if it was dangerous to mention this around the security cameras, but at this point, I wasn't much of a threat to the mastermind. After all, by playing a role in convicting Hoshino-kun, I'd probably helped save the mastermind's life.

"Not exactly," I said. "Kagami-kun is a potential suspect, since I know the least about him, and Sugiura-san has demonstrated an ability to hide her true nature and talent, but while I have indicators that suggest that they _might_ be the mastermind, I have nothing to prove that either of them _is_ the mastermind. For all we know, it could be one of the less suspicious students, like you or Iwasawa-san. For all anyone knows, I could be responsible."

Obviously, I knew I wasn't the mastermind, but the others didn't know that for certain. Most of them probably considered me trustworthy, but after what happened with Mitamura-san, I had no desire to foster _blind_ trust.

"Fair enough," Edogawa-san said. "Of course, even if you don't have a suspect, do you know what you plan to do once you've found the mastermind?"

I stopped short, as I was forced to admit to myself that I hadn't thought that far ahead. I was always taught to plan for the future, but also not to get ahead of myself.

"I guess we could force them to open up the school and let us out," I said, "and once we're out of this school, we can hand them over to the police. Considering that the mastermind abducted us and caused seven people to die, I'm sure that the authorities will find something to charge them with. They're probably better suited for the job than we are."

"That seems reasonable enough," Edogawa-san said. "Father's role as a detective is to identify who was responsible for committing a crime, but while his investigations lead to their arrests and ensure their convictions, he doesn't play any role in deciding their punishment, and certainly wouldn't approve of vigilante justice."

A part of me wondered if any of the criminals Edogawa-san's father had arrested had been sentenced to death, but I realized it was wisest not to ask that question.

"Yes, I'd rather not kill the mastermind unless it's absolutely necessary," I said. "Perhaps their death would ensure our survival, but I think Monokuma would be pleased if the killing game ended with us murdering the mastermind in a vigilante execution, even if it isn't what the mastermind wants."

"Good point," Edogawa-san said. "It's possible that Monokuma and the mastermind have separate agendas, even if it makes it harder to find out who's responsible."

Edogawa-san's point reminded me of what Monokuma said at the end of the first trial- that he didn't think much of the mastermind's intentions. I found it hard to fathom that someone like Monokuma had a moral code, apart from the rules he imposed on us, but we didn't know much about why we'd been trapped in here. As such, the conflict between Monokuma and the mastermind was yet another mystery I had to uncover.

"That's the problem," I said. "I don't want to move against the mastermind until I'm 100 percent certain of their identity, and at this point, I'd say the chance of Sugiura-san or Kagami-kun being the mastermind is barely 20 percent each. Of course, the longer I wait, the more likely a killing is to happen, so I wonder if I'm a coward for hesitating."

Edogawa-san shook her head.

"I'd say you're wise," Edogawa-san said. "Many murderers in the past weren't necessarily motivated by malice- some acted in anger or out of a belief that they were right- but they often came to regret what they did. Sakuragi-kun and Mitamura-san felt that remorse in the end, and perhaps Hoshino-kun did, too, even if he was too proud to admit it. The same would happen to you if you ended up killing an innocent person in your attempt to eliminate the mastermind."

Hearing Edogawa-san say it was reassuring, since I realized I wasn't just making excuses, but it was also a somewhat depressing reminder that fear is often a justified emotion. Both of us had our third brush with death earlier today, and if we hadn't identified Hoshino-kun as the blackened, we wouldn't be here.

"I know," I said. "If that happened, I'd confess and accept my punishment rather than let you and the rest of the spotless die for my mistake. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I graduated."

Edogawa-san nodded solemnly, but I saw her pale a bit.

"Of course, that isn't all," Edogawa-san said "As selfish as it may sound, Miura-san, I don't want to lose you, too. Yuuki-san was a close friend, and I'd always gotten along with Akasaka-san, so I don't want to see any more people die, much less my best friend."

I laid a hand on Edogawa-san's shoulder.

"I feel the same way, Edogawa-san," I said. "I can't promise that I won't die, but I will promise not to throw my life away."

"Thank you," Edogawa-san said, "and please remember this- your life doesn't solely belong to you. Your father, your mother, your sister, your grandmother, the rest of your family and friends, the other students here and I would all be heartbroken if anything happened to you."

"I know," I said. "Of course, I'm sure most of us can say the same. The last thing I want is to cause pain to some other innocent person's family, in addition to my own."

As frustrating as it was to not make any progress in uncovering the mastermind's identity, it was comforting to know that I had Edogawa-san's support. We were all in the same boat, so to speak, and the fact that all our circumstances were similar made it easier for us to have empathy for one another.

* * *

I returned to the dorms, and had enough time to take a shower before the water shut off for the night. Once I was done with the shower, I changed my clothes and climbed into bed.

I had trouble getting to sleep that night, more for my grief over Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san's deaths and my worries for the future than my guilt over sacrificing Hoshino-kun. I'd done what I'd had to when I voted for him both times, but I wished that it never had to come to that. Because several hours had passed between the trial and bedtime, I'd had enough time to think things over that I knew this was the only acceptable outcome, but there was never enough time for the sense of loss and emptiness that followed every class trial to abate.

Still, I eventually was tired enough to fall asleep, and it came more easily than I thought considering my somewhat irregular sleep schedule these past few days. Now that we'd gotten through the class trial, tomorrow would come once again, even if it happened without Yuuki-san, Akasaka-san and Hoshino-kun.

* * *

 _Day 15_

I woke up and went about my morning routine, even though a good night's sleep had only relieved my physical exhaustion. Still, everyone was waiting for me, so once I got dressed, I promptly headed to the dining hall.

I arrived before breakfast and found Katsura-san sitting by herself at the large table. She was staring off into the garden, and when she turned to me, her eyes were almost as red as Akasaka-san's blazer had been.

"Good morning, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Do you have a minute?"

"I do, Katsura-san," I said. "Is something on your mind?"

Katsura-san nodded, and I pulled up a chair next to her.

"I've been thinking about what I said to Hoshino-kun before he was executed," Katsura-san said, "and I wonder if what I told him was merely self-righteous."

"How so?" I said. "Most of us were outraged by what he'd done and why he did it. If he'd gotten away with _either_ murder, _all_ of us would be dead."

Katsura-san shrugged.

"I still think he was selfish to put his own life ahead of those of everyone else here," Katsura-san said, "but he had a point- different people place different values on different lives. Kuro-chan was my friend, and I suppose I reacted the way I did because I couldn't forgive Hoshino-kun for killing her. To a lesser extent, I feel the same way about Yuuki-san, even if I wasn't as close to her."

"That's only natural," I said. "It isn't possible to know everyone in the world, and some lives will inevitably be important to you than others. I mean, all of you are my friends, so I can't just think of you the way I do random strangers."

Katsura-san smiled.

"You know, Miura-san, I think you've changed," Katsura-san said. "Before now, I don't think you ever referred to any of us as your friends."

"I suppose you're right," I said. "Part of the reason was that two weeks ago, I'd just met you all and I wasn't sure who I could trust, so I didn't get too close to anyone."

"That's true," Katsura-san said. "Of course, I'm fairly sure most of us feel that way, so what was the other part?"

"Before I came here, I wasn't really close to many people," I said. "We'd hang out, talk about stuff like school, pop culture, and so forth- one of my friends was even a fellow fan of Edogawa-san- but nothing really major. We'd stick together until we got into different classes, at which point we'd see less of each other, and we'd split up and quickly lose touch once we graduated. I don't have any idea where my friends from middle or elementary school, or even my old high school are. Of course, I didn't really think too hard about this."

"So what changed?" Katsura-san said.

"A few things," I said. "First, being trapped in a school together means that we don't really have time for the banal socializing that I was used to. Second, when my classmates in this school exit my life by dying, it would be a disservice to them to just forget them the same way I do with my other friends."

"True," Katsura-san said. "Of course, to play Devil's Advocate, you know that by getting close to someone, you feel pain when you lose them?"

"I do," I said, "but I didn't _choose_ to. I'd never had a conversation with Kurogane-kun in which he wasn't passive-aggressive or openly insulting toward me, but I still felt bad when he died... and the same went for Sakuragi-kun, who'd tried to frame me for killing him. Despite myself, and no matter how much it might hurt me, I care about all of you, and want to get as many of you out of here as I can."

"That's quite admirable, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Let's do our best."

At that point, people began coming in to have breakfast, and Iwasawa-san began serving their food. Once everyone was seated and had a plate of food- although it took me a moment to remember that nine people was "everyone"- I stood up and addressed the group.

"Good morning, everyone," I said. "I'd like to begin by asking you all a question- has anyone been up to the fourth floor yet?"

"Not yet," Fukuda-kun said. "I mean, I'd assume that it's open by now, since that's what happened with the shutter on the first floor, but-"

A loud "Puhuhuhu!" broke the silence, and Monokuma once again jumped onto the table, just barely avoiding landing on Sugiura-san's plate.

"Good guess, Fukuda-kun!" Monokuma said, as he popped out. "The fourth floor is indeed open."

"Just the fourth floor?" Inoue-kun said. "Weren't there two murders in the last trial?"

"That's right, Inoue-kun," Monokuma said, "but there was only one class trial. It's entirely up to me when and whether I open up new floors."

"That's kind of ass-backwards," Tezuka-kun said. "The _fewer_ people there are left, the _more_ space we get?"

"What do you want me to do, close off the floors as people keep dying?" Monokuma said. "Think of it as a little extra reward, and incentive to keep on solving these mysteries."

I chortled at how disingenuous the idea of Monokuma rewarding us was. Of course, while our interests were the furthest thing from his mind when he ran this killing game, I still didn't know whose goal he was planning on serving.

"But that's enough for now," Monokuma said. "Enjoy your new floor. I'll talk to you lot again once I've gotten the next motive ready."

Monokuma then vanished once again.

"Well, that settles it," I said. "After we're done eating, why don't we set off for the next floor?"

Everyone said "Aye," then got back to eating. None of us were especially excited to explore a new floor, given how little we'd found on the previous two, but if nothing else, we knew what our next move would be.

* * *

We walked through the school, past the until recently locked gate on the third floor and finally reached the fourth floor. The entire trek to the fourth floor only took a few minutes, but it helped me understand just how large the school really was. If someone got attacked and screamed for help, there was no guarantee that someone would be within earshot, much less able to reach that person in time.

"So, the fourth floor, huh," Inoue-kun said, noticing the number at the top of the stairs. "Seems the people who built this school missed the memo on what the number means."

"You don't sound all that worried," Tezuka-kun said.

"Actually, I am," Inoue-kun said. "People have died each time we've reached a new floor, so how will the fourth one be any different? Because of that, there's no point worrying about superstitions."

It was a depressing but true reminder that we'd lost many of our number thus far, and they'd never come back. I couldn't help but wonder how many of us would be around the next time a floor opened up, or if there would even be a next time.

"So, just split up and search the floor, right?" Fukuda-kun said.

"That's the drill," I said. "Let's search until noon, then discuss our findings as we eat."

The others nodded, then fanned out throughout the floor, going in separate directions to cover as much ground as possible. No one seriously thought that we'd find anything more significant or helpful than we had on the previous three floors or the dorms, but I could tell that all of us took the search process seriously, which was at least somewhat encouraging. If we ever found a way out of here, it would not be through one person's efforts alone, so I hoped that everyone left could still work together and contribute what they could.

* * *

The first room I investigated on the fourth floor, the one closest to the stairs, looked like a computer lab. It was a square room with counters on each of the side walls, both of which had computers and office chairs. The center of the room was mostly empty, except for a comfortable chair with a high back, facing away from the door leading into the room. At the rear of the room, there was a small miniature room that was labeled the "Help Desk," and I saw Iwasawa-san standing there expectantly.

"Ah, hello, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said.

"Hello, Iwasawa-san," I said. "This room full of computers looks like a promising find, if a bit too good to be true."

"It certainly is," Iwasawa-san said. "None of these computers turn on."

Iwasawa-san then walked over to the counter and pressed the power button on one of the computers, only for it to do nothing. Apparently, she was confident enough in how much she'd learned about technology, that she didn't need to ask me whether she was operating it correctly.

"That's hardly surprising," I said. "If we had internet access, we could contact the outside world, or at least find out what's going on."

A disturbing thought had occurred to me. Talent High School wasn't on an island in the middle of nowhere- it was in a major city, and traffic drove by the school every day. Even if we lived in the dormitories, someone should have noticed that none of us had called home or contacted the outside world in weeks, and sent someone to investigate what was going on. The fact that this apparently hadn't happened made me suspect that maybe, the rest of the world wasn't any better off, and the more time I spent in here, the harder it was to deny it.

"I thought so, too," Iwasawa-san said. "But even apart from that, might the school have stored important information on the computers?"

"They might have," I said, "but we'd probably need an account name and password to get at it. I doubt anyone's careless enough to leave either of those lying around, and none of us are good enough at hacking to force our way in."

Iwasawa-san sighed dejectedly. While the faculty, staff and administration had probably evacuated the building, assuming they hadn't been killed, we weren't lucky enough to find anything that was left out in the open or carelessly abandoned in their haste to depart. It was obvious that Monokuma believed adult authority figures had no place in a game in which teenagers had to murder each other, but I had to wonder if their absence was necessarily related to his schemes.

"I suppose you also noticed the chair, didn't you?" Iwasawa-san said.

"Only from behind," I said. "What about it?"

Iwasawa-san pointed at the back of the chair, and saw a poster, showing a run-down room that looked like it was out of a horror movie. The title of the work was "Final Dead Room: VR Edition," and it promised that it was "Coming Soon."

"Coming soon?" I said. "I wonder if Monokuma's behind this."

"I most certainly am, Miura-san!" Monokuma said as he appeared. "It looks like you stumbled on what's going to be the next motive- a virtual reality video game for you all to enjoy."

"In other words, it isn't ready yet?" I said.

"You could say that," Monokuma said. "You should know the drill by now- I give you a little time to get accustomed to the new floor before I give you another motive. Of course, unlike some people, I mean it when I say it's coming out 'soon'- it's not like it's Final Dead Room _Forever_ , after all."

"I get it," Iwasawa-san said. "Still, what does 'Virtual Reality' mean?"

"In layman's terms, it's almost like reality," Monokuma said, "so it feels a bit like you're actually there, playing the game. Still, I'm not one for spoilers, so you'll have to wait until it's ready. Ta-ta!"

Monokuma left once again.

"Virtual reality sounds like an amazing technology," Iwasawa-san said. "It's too bad Monokuma's using it for such terrible purposes."

"I know what you mean, Iwasawa-san," I said. "Currently, virtual reality's fairly limited, but it'd be wonderful if felt like you were actually there inside the world."

I saw a wistful expression in Iwasawa-san's eyes, that of a child who saw endless possibilities in a world they knew little about. Of course, now that we'd seen what people our age could do to each other, and a robotic bear could do to all of us, we couldn't help but imagine a virtually perfect virtual reality simulator being used as a setting for a killing game.

"By the way, Miss Miura, I've noticed something," Iwasawa-san said. "Like Monokuma just said, he always waits for a little while to release a new motive, doesn't he?"

"He does," I said. "It's probably to give us a chance to kill each other without the motive, like Sakuragi-kun did."

"That's possible," Iwasawa-san said. "He doesn't seem all that patient, though- he added the time limit to the 'weakness' motive to force us to act. I can't help but worry that if the motive isn't enough, he'll make things worse for us until someone snaps and commits murder."

"That... seems likely," I said. "We're at Monokuma's mercy as long as we're here."

Even as I said that, I knew that students trying to kill the mastermind was something Monokuma wanted. If I was wrong, I'd end up committing the same crime as the other murderers, albeit with better intentions. We'd lose two more people, myself included, Monokuma would treat us to yet another gruesome execution, and everyone who cared about me, as well as about my victim, would end up grieving.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that the clock was ticking once again. If I didn't find out who the mastermind was, Monokuma would once again introduce a motive, and it would only be a matter of time before the next murder.

* * *

Just outside the computer lab, near the stairs connecting the fourth floor to the third, I found a dead end in the hallway, with what looked like a door on the wall. There was a small electronic box to the right of the door, with a small slot a few millimeters wide, that looked like a receptacle of some sort.

While I was examining it, Katsura-san wandered by.

"Ah, I see you also noticed the strange door, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "I don't suppose you have any more idea how to open it?"

"Not really," I said. "I've heard of all sorts of locks- keys, combinations, cards, and so on and so forth- but this doesn't look like any of them."

"You've got that right!" Monokuma said as he appeared out of nowhere. "This door does have a special purpose, but it's a bit too soon for you ladies to use it. Come back some time later!"

Monokuma vanished as quickly as he'd appeared.

"So he's willing to let us open the door," I said, "but something has to happen first. Interesting..."

"What do you mean?" Katsura-san said.

"He did say that we were free to explore this school," I said, "but I suspect that while the school's gradually opened up, there are some places we will never be allowed to explore. I'm guessing that those places include Monokuma and the mastermind's headquarters."

"You might be right," Katsura-san said. "It's not as though I know this place all that well, either. The more I explore, the more it seems to surprise me."

Katsura-san and I parted ways- she decided to join Iwasawa-san investigating the computer lab, while I moved on to the rest of the floor.

* * *

I found Sugiura-san sitting in a classroom on the fourth floor, looking around in a desk.

"Hello, Sugiura-san," I said. "Did you find anything worth discussing?"

Sugiura-san chuckled and shook her head.

"Not at all," Sugiura-san said. "I should think it would be obvious after the last six or seven classrooms we checked out in here."

"I'm not surprised," I said, "although it was worth asking."

Sugiura-san nodded, then looked at me with a serious expression.

"Still," Sugiura-san said, "I wanted to talk with you for a minute. I hope you don't blame yourself for what happened- Hoshino's the only one at fault."

"I know," I said, "but I wasn't able to stop him, either."

"Maybe," Sugiura-san said, "but let's be honest here. Did anyone else think of an alternative proposal for making sure no one used the gun?"

I shook my head.

"Not that I can think of," I said. "Hoshino-kun wasn't shy about criticizing me, but he voted 'yes' to my proposal in the end."

"Exactly," Sugiura-san said. "I think the saying that 'if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem' is going a bit far, but the fact is that most of us just go with the flow, hoping that we won't get killed and if a class trial does take place, we'll know who to vote for. At the very least, you're actually trying to do something about it, and not for selfish reasons like Mitamura was."

"'Trying' is the operative word," I said, "since almost half of us are dead by now. I'm not about to give up, but I'm not happy with my results thus far."

"It isn't half as bad as it could be," Mitamura-san said. "When I think of a killing game like this, I could easily imagine us slaughtering each other in a bloodbath on the first day, or not even getting past the first trial. Only three people have committed murder so far, and you're a big part of the reason why the nine of us are still alive. Think about that the next time you think about throwing a pity party for yourself."

"I will," I said. "Thank you, Sugiura-san."

"No problem," Sugiura-san said. "My life hasn't exactly been a bed of roses, but I was still scared shitless of dying here from when we found Kurogane dead to when we convicted Sakuragi, and the second and third trials were no different. The easiest way to appreciate what you have is to think about what you can lose, and how much you don't want to lose it."

I left the classroom, thinking about the conversation. As someone who'd been suspected of murder and had no way of disproving those accusations by herself, she obviously appreciated our ability to find the true culprit in the class trials. I had more than a few regrets, but I wasn't powerless, so rather than cry over spilled milk, I could rededicate myself to finding the mastermind, and solving the next murder if it came to that.

* * *

My next discovery on this floor was what appeared to be an A/V room. There were a few closets with cameras and other recording equipment inside, as well as a projector screen, a TV and a computer with video editing software on it.

In the back, there was what looked like a recording studio. Inoue-kun was inside, and he sounded like he was saying something.

"I'm sorry, Inoue-kun, I can't hear you," I said.

Inoue-kun mouthed something to me, then pointed at the doorknob. I then grabbed hold of it and by lifting it up before turning, managed to get the door open.

"Thanks for the help, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "The door knob got stuck and wouldn't open."

"You're welcome," I said. "Is it soundproof or something?"

"Seems like it," Inoue-kun said. "Want to test it out?"

"No thank you," I said. "I couldn't hear you while you were in there, and I'd rather not get stuck inside."

As I gazed upon the soundproof room, that, thanks to its faulty doorknob, could become like a prison cell, I was reminded of this school. Ordinarily, we'd be able to hear some noise from outside- such as rain on the windowsill, birds singing or cars on the nearby road- depending on the time of day, the season and our vantage point, but we couldn't hear anything from outside ever since we'd found ourselves in this school. Either the entire school had been made soundproof... or more disturbingly, there wasn't anything for us to hear outside.

"Anyway, it's kind of odd that with all the bells and whistles in this place, the door doesn't even work properly," Inoue-kun said. "There were a couple doors like that at my old school, but you expect better at a school like this, you know?"

"I know," I said. "Of course, the fitness room was kind of simplistic, so I'm surprised they have a room like this, which not many students will use."

Inoue-kun nodded.

"Schools have strange priorities when it comes to investing," Inoue-kun said. "When I lived in America, a lot of people complained about how the nearby high school was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars- tens of millions of yen- on new athletic facilities while the teachers hadn't gotten a raise in years. There was a lot of outcry, but it didn't change the school board's minds."

I'd once considered putting "school teacher" on my career choice survey. Mom found it an admirable choice, but while Dad agreed with Mom, he'd warned me that teaching wasn't exactly a well-paying career. As such, I put it below "business professional," and above "author."

"That tends to happen," I said. "Speaking of which, do you know where this place gets its funding?"

"I asked about it when I visited," Inoue-kun said, "and I heard that in addition to some tuition by Reserve Course students, it also gets a lot from private donors and investors who support the school's mission. The Reserve Course isn't as sought-after as Hopes Peak's, so they can't charge as much."

Apparently, the Talent High School Reserve Course also predated Hope's Peak's equivalent, a rare case in which the copycat school made an innovation and the original followed suit.

"I see," I said. "I've been wondering if this place is a bit too good to be true, and not just because the school played host to a killing game."

"So have I," Inoue-kun said. "For the most part, all the students I know can only hope to get into a 'pretty good' high school and college. It'd be really tempting to not just get into one of the best schools, but to actually be told that they want you."

"That's right," I said. "Of course, most of my friends from my old school were fine with going on to a 'pretty good' college- and that's just those who wanted to continue their education and not just go into the workforce or become housewives."

"I think they're wise," Inoue-kun said. "They probably won't be famous or especially successful, and probably won't get everything they want, but I can see them being happy with their lives. At times, I do wonder if I really needed to come here, even if I didn't end up getting stuck in this killing game."

Now that I thought about it, most of the Ultimates- with some notable exceptions, such as myself- would probably be set for life without a diploma from Hope's Peak or Talent High School if they kept up the good works. They'd achieved great success at a young age, and had skills that could transfer into other jobs, so if they played their cards right, they'd have a successful career in virtually anywhere that suited their personality and skills. As for everyone else, we'd have to work hard, but we could probably blaze our own trails.

"Maybe not," I said. "Still, Inoue-kun, I'm glad I met you, even if I wish it had been under better circumstances. Maybe I could've come to your school."

"That'd be nice," Inoue-kun said, "especially since that way, you'd be schoolmates with a certain popular mystery novelist."

We shared a laugh at Inoue-kun's less than subtle allusion to Edogawa-san, lightening the mood for the moment. There was a possibility that either of them was the mastermind, but for now, they were innocent until proven guilty, and good friends until I found proof that they were the mastermind.

* * *

I found an auditorium. There were several rows of chairs, probably a few hundred in all, and I suspected that some of the students here would probably fill it if they held a performance.

I found Fukuda-kun sitting in the front row. He didn't notice me until I was a few paces behind him, and given how quickly he sat up, I wondered if he'd fallen asleep.

"Hi, Miura," Fukuda-kun said.

"Hello, Fukuda-kun," I said. "Is somethin on your mind?"

Fukuda-kun nodded, and I sat down next to him.

"I've been thinking about what Hoshino said," Fukuda-kun said. "He's still a selfish jerk, but I don't think he's wrong- people do treat those closest to them differently. Even after everything he did, I can't help but feel a little sorry for him, and wonder who's going to mourn him."

"Probably his family," I said. "Like Katsura-san said at the trial, all of us have people outside the school who'd be heartbroken if anything happened to us."

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "Of course, I haven't forgotten about the victims, either."

I nodded. It was little more than idle speculation at this point, but I did hope to meet all my classmates' families- both the living and the dead- if I ever escaped from this place.

"Speaking of which, I heard something interesting from Akasaka not long before she died," Fukuda-kun said. "Apparently, Futaba and Akasaka's little sister know each other."

"You mean Midoriko-chan?" I said. "The second oldest of the siblings?"

"Yeah, her," Fukuda-kun said. "Futaba didn't mention her friend's family name, so I didn't know Midoriko was Akasaka's little sister. Anyway, I wish I could've gotten to know Akasaka- that is, Kuro- better."

"Like you said, it's not as though you had a lot of time," I said. "Of course, when you lose someone important to you, I don't think there's ever enough time."

"Well, there's also people like Yuuki," Fukuda-kun said. "I can't really lecture her about manners, but while I found it strange she called me by my first name from day one, I only just realized why- she treats _everyone_ here like they're her friends. It's kind of admirable that she believes in people like that... even if one of those so-called 'friends' killed her."

"I know," I said. "That's one of several reasons why Yuuki-san never deserved to end up here."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Still, I think most of us who've made it this far, and some of those who were killed, are pretty trustworthy," Fukuda-kun said. "Besides, I might've been friends with them back when we were at school."

"That's possible," I said. "Of course, assuming Monokuma's telling the truth, the mastermind is one of us."

Fukuda-kun let out a long sigh. Monokuma was anything but trustworthy, but a good deal of what he said happened to be true. As such, it wasn't prudent to dismiss what he said out of hand, no matter how unpleasant his words were.

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "I really have no idea what happened in our time here that would drive them to start this killing game, or even if they thought of us as friends at all."

"Neither do I," I said. "Maybe they erased our memories so that we wouldn't be able to find out."

"Who knows?" Fukuda-kun said. "A part of me's scared to find out, but I know we're gonna have to if we want to get more than one or two of us out of this school."

I left Fukuda-kun and decided to explore the rest of the floor, somewhat eager to get the investigation over with so I could once again work on finding out who the mastermind was.

* * *

Once again, I came to the stairs at the end of the floor, blocked off by a shutter. Edogawa-san was standing there, intently looking at the barrier that was in our way

"Did you find anything, Edogawa-san?" I said.

"Nothing this time, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said, "although I am curious about something. Do you see the keyhole on the shutter?"

I nodded, then looked down and saw what Edogawa-san was describing- a lock at the base of the shutter, which was keeping it shut.

"I do," I said. "I hadn't thought much of it when I first saw it- I only concluded that it was proof that the shutter was locked and we couldn't get it open. What are you thinking?"

"It's about the floor opening up," Edogawa-san said. "It's only a theory, but I think that the mastermind had to open it personally to allow us access to the next floor. Since we went to bed immediately after the first and second trials, they could go out and open the door soon after the trial, but this time, people were still moving around the second floor, so the mastermind had to wait until Night Time."

"That's possible," I said. "Of course, the mastermind would need the key, or some other device that can unlock the doors."

"I can see them having that," Edogawa-san said. "Unfortunately, it would be hard to determine who has it."

I sighed.

"I agree," I said. "Even if we strip searched everyone, the mastermind could hide the key in a body cavity, swallow it, or simply leave it in their room when they aren't using it."

"True," Edogawa-san said. "Even suspecting people based on whether they were reluctant to be searched would prove little. I think most people would take umbrage to being asked that, while the mastermind would willingly consent if they were confident that we wouldn't find anything."

Edogawa-san's analysis was fairly depressing in more ways than one. The mastermind was presumably very confident, and had good reason to be, since they were able to make things very difficult for us while remaining incognito. Perhaps the only reason why the mastermind didn't attempt a murder and graduate was because they were enjoying the game too much, and were confident that none of us could bring it to a premature end.

* * *

We held another meeting for the results of our investigation. Most of us took turns speaking about what we'd found, and what I heard from the other eight students was largely what I'd seen with my own two eyes.

"So it seems as though we've found two especially noteworthy finds on this floor," I said. "The first is the computer lab, which, despite being useless to us, will likely contain Monokuma's next motive. The second is the locked door near the stairs, even if we lack the means to open it."

"So, no good news?" Sugiura-san said. "Well, at least I've gotten used to this."

"Unfortunately, the same goes for me," I said. "We all know Monokuma won't make things easy for us."

The others glumly nodded. There was always a sense of disappointment when we failed to find much while exploring each new area, and while we'd gotten used to that feeling, it hadn't lessened in the slightest.

"One more thing," I said. "As Inoue-kun can attest to, the door to the recording studio gets stuck easily and the inside is apparently soundproof. Please don't go inside- if you get trapped in there, we may not be able to help you."

It went without saying, but it was possible to murder someone in there without anyone coming to the victim's aid. Of course, no one had been around to hear Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san being murdered, and we'd caught Hoshino-kun in the end, so it wasn't as though a lack of witnesses guaranteed that a would-be graduate would avoid getting caught.

"Gotcha," Tezuka-kun said. "It's not like we're gonna be recording anything, anyway."

It was astonishing how many rooms inside this school fulfilled vitally important functions for a normal school, but were useless in a killing game. All you needed for a good classroom was a small room with enough space for a couple dozen desks, and a blackboard at front, but the only reason we had to spend time in a room like that was to have a conversation with one of our classmates.

"That seems to be all for this meeting," I said. "Does anyone have anything they'd like to bring up?"

Katsura-san then raised her hand.

"Yes, Katsura-san?" I said.

"I have a proposal, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "I would like to hold a memorial ceremony for everyone who has died so far- both those who were killed and the ones who were executed for killing them- at some point in the future, inside the auditorium. We can gather to remember the fallen, and those who'd been close to the dead can perhaps give eulogies. There's no end in sight for this killing game, but this may give us some degree of closure."

Katsura-san's suggestion was a good one, but I had to wonder why she'd waited so long to make it. Maybe it was because she'd just lost a close friend. Maybe it was because Hoshino-kun wasn't around to object to the idea of memorializing the killers(not that he'd have a leg to stand on now). Maybe it was because we'd found a good venue for that. Or maybe it was because enough time had passed here that we knew we couldn't necessarily wait to get back home and hold a funeral for the dead.

"That sounds like a good proposal," I said. "Say 'Aye' if you support this idea."

Eight people, myself included, said 'Aye.' After a moment of hesitation, Sugiura-san joined in, too. If we hadn't gotten a majority, I'd have proposed a smaller and more private event, but I was glad that everyone who was left was in favor of the event.

"All right," I said. "What time would work well for people?"

"Any time's good," Tezuka-kun said, "but if you're willing to wait a day or two, I could make some portraits."

I nodded, and checked my watch, which showed the time as being a little after noon. Normally, we'd have pictures of the deceased, taken by a professional photographer, but that wasn't exactly easy when our handbooks couldn't print photos.

"If you're willing to help, Tezuka-kun, then please do," I said. "Would holding the memorial service after breakfast two days from now work?"

Everyone said "Aye."

"Good," I said. "I hope to see you all there- for now, use the time to think about what you might like to say in honor of our lost friends."

The meeting adjourned, and everyone in attendance left with a great deal to think about. By now, most of us were probably at least partly aware of what Hoshino-kun had realized- that we couldn't simply wait for rescue or hope for the killing game to end- but that we had to bring about an end to it ourselves. None of us knew how to do that, but at the very least, we had a starting point.

* * *

After retrieving the Monocoins from my room, I went to the school store and inserted them into the Monomono machine. After getting a rice ball that was over a year past its expiration date, I obtained the last two figures in the series- a half red Monokuma with a scarf and shuriken like a ninja, and a half pink one that had a flower.

"Congratulations, Miura-san!" Monokuma said. "You've completed the set!"

"That's nice," I said. "Is there any sort of prize?"

"Nope!" Monokuma said. "It's the process of collecting them that counts. When you get a full set, you can brag about it to your friends- at least, the ones who are still alive right now."

I let off a sigh. On the one hand, I was surprisingly lucky, in that I hadn't gotten any duplicates of the figurines on my way to collecting all five. On the other hand, I was only able to complete the set after Yuuki-san, the person who most wanted them, had died, so I'd never be able to give them to her.

"Bored already?" Monokuma said. "Sheesh, you kids have no imagination."

"You sound like my dad," I said. "That's what he said when I got complained about not having anything to do when I was little."

"Oh, that's the last comparison I want you to make," Monokuma said. "Think about it- your parents, your teachers and pretty much everyone else who bosses you around aren't here, so you can go wild. Do you think I forgot how you stayed up past your bedtime two nights in a row, or what you did with that magazine?"

I turned beet red, but even as I did, I knew that if my parents had caught me, I'd probably have to worry about more than just being embarrassed.

"But anyway, I'm not gonna tell you how to spend your free time," Monokuma said. "Have fun thinking about all the things you wanted to try but were too scared to, and then do them while you've still got the chance!"

After Monokuma left, I put in the last of my coins and got one last prize- a blue Talent High school necktie, which was probably the least imaginative choice of a gift for a guy behind money and gift cards.

As I headed back to my room with my prizes in tow, I pondered how surprisingly ordinary the Monomono Machine's latest offerings had been, and couldn't help but think about Monokuma's needling. My parents and teachers had instilled in me a sense of right and wrong, but that didn't mean we always agreed on what was acceptable or what wasn't. In those cases, I simply obeyed the rules, not always because I agreed with them, but because it was a safer route than the alternative.

If anything, my time in this school made me more honest with myself. The truth was that I'd always been a lesbian, even if I'd only come to terms with that fact less than two weeks ago. The realization that many people would disapprove of my lifestyle troubled me, but I knew that was because I dreaded the possibility of my friends and family turning on me, rather than because I'd internalized those attitudes. I didn't have any solutions to those problems yet, but at least I had a better understanding of them.

My time here had been an eye-opening experience, and I was almost grateful to Monokuma. Of course, getting out of here with as many survivors as possible was my first priority, and everything else could wait until I'd accomplished that. With that in mind, I pushed my worries for the future to the back of my mind and once again tried to find possible escape routes or clues to the mastermind's identity.

* * *

I went up to the gallery, and lay the Monokuma figures where Yuuki-san's body had been found. I'd hoped to drop them off in her room, but the door had been locked ever since Yuuki-san set off for her shift, and her key had been taken away along with her body.

After squatting down to place the figurines, I knelt and clapped my hands a few times. My family and I had never been very religious, even by Japanese standards, but this was the only thing I could do for Yuuki-san at the moment.

Within a few minutes, I heard someone coming, and stood up to greet that person... who turned out to be Edogawa-san.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said. "Are you in the middle of something?"

"I was... giving a gift to Yuuki-san," I said. "She seemed like she'd enjoy this sort of thing, so I thought I'd give the Monokuma figures to her when I got the entire set."

Edogawa-san solemnly nodded.

"I had the same idea," Edogawa-san said, "even if I didn't know what to give. I once talked with Yuuki-san, and she said that when an older girl at her school- I believe her name was Kisaragi-san- fell down the stairs and died, someone left flowers and a juice box where her body had been found, and put a small vase of flowers on her desk."

"That's a nice gesture," I said, even as I imagined what our class might look like, with nine students at their desks and seven vases of flowers. If we had flowers, I'd place two bouquets in the gallery, another in the nurse's office, one more in the boys' bathroom and three in the courtroom.

"I think so, too," Edogawa-san said. "Of course, Yuuki-san said Kisaragi-san, who was quite selfless, wouldn't want a perfectly good juice box and vase of flowers to go to waste like that. Yuuki-san said if Kisaragi-san could come back as a spirit, she'd probably give the juice box to a student who looked thirsty, and give the flowers to someone who was hospitalized. For that reason, the Kisaragi family asked for donations to charity in lieu of flowers at their daughter's funeral."

I nodded, then bent down and picked up the figures before standing up. I glanced at Yuuki-san's face in the class portrait, and imagining her smile to be approval for what I was about to do, turned around to face Edogawa-san.

"In that case, I think Yuuki-san would want you to have these," I said, offering Edogawa-san the figures. "I don't know if you're interested in this sort of thing, but she'd probably want me to give them to a friend."

"Thank you, Miura-san... and Yuuki-san," Edogawa-san said as she accepted our gift.

"You're welcome," I said. "By the way, I was talking to Fukuda-kun earlier, and he said it was impressive how Yuuki-san treated everyone here like they were her friends, even considering the circumstances, and that we'd more or less just met."

"That's very much like Yuuki-san," Edogawa-san said. "It's quite fitting that her name means 'courage,' after all- she's always been braver than I am."

"Why do you think so?" I said.

"Most people usually hold themselves back a bit around acquaintances, or people they don't completely trust," Edogawa-san said. "They'd be scared of being rejected, or perhaps their so-called 'friend' taking advantage of them. At the very least, that's how I thought of it. For me, being a bit formal or distant with most people wasn't just a matter of politeness, but also a way to avoid offending others. I couldn't possibly imagine myself calling everyone by their first names, like Yuuki-san did."

Even as Edogawa-san said this, I still knew that her good-natured personality was entirely genuine. There was a difference between Sugiura-san, who loathed having to put up a polite façade and dropped it the moment it no longer served her purposes and Edogawa-san, who consistently practiced it.

Still, while I respected Sae's good manners and good nature, a part of me felt tempted to make a bold request- for her to step out of her comfort zone.

"Me neither," I said. "Still, why not make an exception for me... Sae?"

Sae blushed, but nodded faintly, with a wide smile on her face. I'd always thought of her as one of the more mature and dignified students, apart from Mitamura-san, who was serious to a fault, but this side of Sae was rather cute.

"Oh, certainly, K-Kaori," Sae said. "Social expectations aside, I've wondered why I never thought to ask people for this."

"Well, it's a first for me, too," I said, "just one of those small steps I'd never managed to take before. Akasaka-san took that step with Katsura-san after less than two weeks of knowing each other, and Yuuki-san didn't hesitate at all, so it didn't make any sense for me to get cold feet around my best friend here."

"Quite true," Sae said. "I'm glad you feel the same way."

We talked for a little bit, and got used to using each other's first names. Being on a first-name basis with my favorite author wasn't the only thing that happened in the past two weeks that I would never have imagined happening before that, but for once, it was one such development that I was glad had happened. Still, just as Sae would be heartbroken if anything happened to me, I would feel the same way if she was the next victim of this killing game, since I wanted to continue to learn more about and get closer to her.

* * *

After dinner, Katsura-san came up to me, after I'd finished eating but before I'd taken my plate to the kitchen. By this point, most of the others had finished eating and were on their way out of the dining hall.

"Just wondering, Miura-san," Katsura-san said, "but would you be interested in playing a game of checkers with me?"

"I would," I said. "You used to do them all the time with Akasaka-san, didn't you?"

Katsura-san nodded.

"I did," Katsura-san said. "As luck would have it, Kuro-chan left the board and the pieces in the rec room the last time we played, since she knew I'd be waiting there for her to get off her shift. Now that she's... gone, I was hoping to play it with one of the few friends I have left here."

"Certainly," I said. "I can spare time for a game."

After I dropped my plate off in the kitchen sink, we went to the rec room, set up the board and began to play. A few moves in, I realized the difference in skill between us, as while I'd taken one of Katsura-san's pieces, I'd lost three of my own.

"I remember what we talked about the last time we were here with Kuro-chan," Katsura-san said. "Maybe I should have taken the gun and killed myself with it, resulting in one casualty rather than three."

I winced. If Katsura-san put it that way, then I was partly to blame, since I'd vetoed that plan, but that wasn't all. The idea of any of us dying- and more importantly, the idea that our deaths were inevitable- was abhorrent to me. My plan to make sure no one used the gun might have failed, but I still felt the same way that I did when I proposed it.

"In other words, a partial success for Monokuma," I said, "and perhaps encouragement he needs for his next motive. I know it isn't possible to save everyone in a situation like this, but any plan that lets people die gives him what he wants."

"I know," Katsura-san said. "In retrospect, I wonder if my belief that killing the mastermind was the most rational choice was merely naïve- both because of what you just said and because it assumes that killing someone is an easy choice to make. Perhaps Sakuragi-kun, Mitamura-san and Hoshino-kun were selfish, but they must also have been very desperate if they'd committed murder and put their own lives on their line to graduate."

"Again, that's what Monokuma's aiming for," I said. "Not only do the motives provide incentives for us to graduate, but he's also hoping that the fear of death will wear us down and cause us to do something we'll regret."

"Exactly," Katsura-san said. "Kuro-chan always had a hard time being in the killing game, but I think that in the end, she understood what needed to be done better than I did. She knew every life was precious, but understood that there were times when one person had to die to save many others, such as when we convicted the blackened. I'm honestly not so sure what the right thing to do is anymore."

I shrugged.

"Neither am I," I said, "but maybe that isn't a bad thing. There are times when being too sure of what you want to do blinds you to the possibility of your choice being wrong. That's especially true in situations in which there aren't any good choices."

"You might be right," Katsura-san said. "Of course, even if I do find myself in one such situation, facing an impossible decision, I still want to be sure I can make the best choice."

As if to demonstrate that principle, I saw that my last piece was trapped, and any move I made would result in my defeat. Still, I did have a choice where to move, and I made the choice that took one of Katsura-san's four remaining pieces down with me. Katsura-san faintly smiled, before performing the coup de grace and capturing my final piece.

The game concluded in my defeat. Katsura-san wasn't nearly as talented as Akasaka-san had been, but she'd gotten some practice during our time here. Maybe I'd eventually be able to catch up to her, but I didn't know if we'd be around long enough for that to happen.

"Thank you for the match," we said, as we stood up and bowed to each other.

"Thank you for playing with me, Katsura-san," I said. "I'm sorry I'm not nearly up to Akasaka-san's level."

"That isn't a problem," Katsura-san said. "It's nice to be able to win for once."

I let off a faint chuckle.

"In all seriousness, though, Miura-san, there's something you should understand," Katsura-san said. "No one can replace Kuro-chan, but no one can replace you, either. If you'd died in her stead, I'm sure Edogawa-san would have as hard of a time coming to terms with losing you as I am coming to terms with losing Kuro-chan."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said.

"Please do," Katsura-san said. "Just between us, while we were on guard duty together, Edogawa-san often talked about you, and mentioned that she looked forward to 8 PM, simply because she'd have two hours to spend with you. If you turned up dead somewhere, or ended up being the next blackened to be executed, I'm sure Edogawa-san would spend the rest of her days in here looking for you in vain, just like I am for Kuro-chan."

"I know," I said. "Sae and I discussed this earlier, and I promised her that I'd do what I could to prevent that from happening."

Katsura-san smiled after hearing me use Sae's first name.

"As long as you understand that, it's good enough for me," Katsura-san said. "Goodbye for now, Miura-san, and please take care of yourself."

I said goodbye to Katsura-san for now, promising to keep what she said in mind, and play with her again some time. Even though death was a constant in this killing game, I had to admit that it was hard to imagine life in this school without the various people in it- Mitamura-san leading our meetings, Hoshino-kun criticizing us whenever we got to be too naive or idealistic for his liking, Akasaka-san playing checkers with Katsura-san, Yuuki-san doing what she could to brighten everyone's day, and even the other three boys who'd died. As much as I had to wonder which of my fellow students, which I'd spent so long in close proximity with, would be the next to die, I realized this was one question I didn't want to answer.

* * *

Shortly before the Night Time Announcement, I went back to my room, took a shower and changed into my tracksuit before laying down on my bed.

Since Sae's debut, I'd only thought of her as my favorite author, and hadn't minded her thinking of me as just an anonymous fan. I'd sent her a fan letter once, but she'd almost certainly forgotten about me- all that mattered was letting her know that I enjoyed her books and wanted her to keep on writing. None of her readers needed her acknowledgment- all we expected of her was to keep up the good work.

And then I actually met her, along with the thirteen other talented high schoolers who comprised our class (as well as Kagami-kun, whose talent was unknown). A part of me had hoped that we could be friends- which didn't exactly mean much given my past experiences- even if I was hesitant to get close to anyone at first. Perhaps we'd go our separate ways once we escaped, but I could say that for a while, I'd been schoolmates with my favorite author.

I'd always assumed Sae just thought of me as yet another schoolmate and friend. She and I had got along, but she was always polite and friendly to the other students. Kurogane-kun had been the only one who'd ever angered her, by continuing to mock and deride me, but she'd called him out on his rudeness as politely as she could manage. As such, I hadn't fully expected that she'd enjoyed spending time with me that much. Maybe she was fine with being called by her first name, but she'd also asked to use mine, something she hadn't done even with her close friend Yuuki-san, who'd have happily said yes if Sae had asked.

Perhaps Sae really was shy and truly hadn't had many friends before, as Inoue-kun had said when I first met him. Perhaps I was the first person who'd gotten this close to her. But why would Sae choose an occasion like the killing game to make friends, and why would she choose me? There was likely more to her interest in me than mere desperation, loneliness and a desire for friendship, or at least I hoped there was.

One thing was clear. I wanted to get out of here without losing anyone else, least of all Sae. Following our escape, I hoped to get back to my normal life, in which I had the leisure to think about what my friends meant to me and come up with more satisfactory answers to my questions.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Go on, try it some time!  
_

 _It can be a surprise when you find out that the villain actually used to be one of the heroes._

 _Or reading a detective story in which a guy is released from prison and brings a lot of folks back from the dead._

 _There's nothing like reading a romance novel in which a married couple undoes their own wedding, goes back to dating and forgets about each other by the "end" of it all._

 _We're about midway through, but I'm curious- have you ever tried reading backwards?_

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

Now that almost half the cast is dead, you may see more focus on the remaining characters.

I recently finished all the characters' Free Time Events, which you can find in "Where Talent Goes To Die: Side Stories." There may be other Side Stories in the future, so stay tuned.

I'll be working on a project for NaNoWriMo, so you may not see an update for this fic until the end of November _._


	17. Chapter IV, Part 2

_Day 16_

Before breakfast, I saw Tezuka-kun in the dining hall. I hadn't seen him much since the previous day, although I'd sometimes caught glimpses of him painting in the gallery.

"Morning, Miura," Tezuka-kun said.

"Good morning, Tezuka-kun," I said. "How are the portraits coming along?"

"Pretty good," Tezuka-kun said. "I finished with Kurogane, Sakuragi and Mizuhara, so I should be able to get the other four done by tomorrow morning. All you need for art is supplies and free time, and I've got plenty of each."

"That's good to hear," I said. "I appreciate your help, and I'm confident you'll do a good job."

"Definitely," Tezuka-kun said. "I don't half-ass my art, especially not for something like this. It might just be drawing their faces, but I'm not gonna get lazy. It's probably not as good as a photo, though- there's a reason why you don't see too many people getting their portraits painted these days."

"Convenience," I said. "These days, since cell phones have cameras in them, all you need to do is point at yourself, and voila- instant selfie."

As I spoke, I took out my tablet and pointed at myself, then took a selfie. I then overwrote the photo I had of Akasaka-san's dead body. As much as I wanted mementos of my dead friends, I had no desire for the last visual representation of Akasaka-san to be of her lying in a pool of her own blood.

"That's right," Tezuka-kun said. "I've got to wonder if a lot of the Ultimates here or at Hope's Peak specialized in talents that ended up becoming obsolete."

"You're probably right," I said. "I think there was an Ultimate Seamstress in the year before us, and an Ultimate Cobbler in one of the first classes."

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "A lot of people talk about starving artists or whatnot, but I've got to admit- I'm lucky that there's always going to be some need for art. It's not like being good at art is much use here."

I recalled what Monokuma had said at the end of the first class trial- that few of us had any sort of aptitude for the killing game, and I had to wonder if that was the point. While most of us could make careers out of our talents, once we were inside this killing game, we were lucky if we'd end up using them once or twice. What if the point of this killing game was to show that even the most talented students were as helpless as anyone else in a situation like this, and not above murdering in order to get out? The thought was a disturbing one, and while I put it out of my head for the moment, I knew I'd eventually have to revisit it.

* * *

After breakfast, I investigated the fourth floor, and saw Kagami-kun investigating the A/V room.

"Oh, hi, Kagami-kun," I said. "Out of curiosity, did you get the machines to work?"

"Not really, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "As far as I can tell, they're only for playing and editing audio or video, so we don't have any use for them."

"Got it," I said. "I noticed your headphones and just thought you might be able to plug them in."

I had to admit that I'd gotten so used to seeing Kagami-kun with his headphones around his neck that I'd barely noticed them anymore.

"Interesting idea," Kagami-kun said. "As far as I know, though, I don't have any sort of talent related to music or technology- maybe I just like listening to music, or don't like interacting with others."

I couldn't really dispute the latter point, since no one here, myself included, was particularly close to Kagami-kun- if he died, I had no idea who would be able to give a good eulogy for him. Of course, while headphone users preferred to listen to music instead of speaking with others, perhaps they had at least enough common sense to not blast passers-by with said music.

"I'm curious about one thing," I said. "Did you lose _all_ your memories, or just those from your time in high school?"

"The latter," Kagami-kun said "I recall having a relatively ordinary childhood, as an unexceptional boy who wanted to be special in some way."

"And you probably got your wish," I said. "Of course, most of the others' talents first manifested when they were young, so maybe yours did, too, right?"

Kagami-kun shrugged. I was hoping that maybe his memories of early childhood would contain some clue, but he'd probably considered that possibility already. It was unfortunate that I could only take his word for it when it came to his amnesia, but the same went for what he- or anyone else- claimed to remember.

"I'm not sure," Kagami-kun said. "It's possible that I was scouted in my second year of high school, or transferred in during the middle of the year. That would explain why I don't remember my entrance interview."

There were times when I had to wonder why the mastermind had erased our memories of our time at this school, and I usually came up with more questions than answers. One thing I was certain about was that the mastermind wanted us to retain our memory of being Talent High School students, which was why they let us remember coming to this school, back before it was sealed. The only question was why Kagami-kun wasn't allowed to remember his talent.

"So maybe you're older than us," I said. "In that case, should I call you 'Kagami-san' or 'Kagami-senpai'?"

Kagami-kun chuckled and shook his head. There were times when I wondered if I should take a page from Mitamura-san's playbook and also use "-san" on guys, if only to make things simpler, but I decided against it. I didn't see any point in changing who I was, much less emulating someone as flawed as Mitamura-san- besides, I actually enjoyed how Sae and I had recently decided to use each other's first names and forgo honorifics.

"'Kagami-kun' is fine," he said, "since I'm fairly sure I'm in your age group. Besides, it was just a possibility, since maybe the people in charge of evaluating talents have a very different impression of our strengths than we do."

I paused to think for a moment. Usually, the way that would play out would be for someone who overestimated their talents getting a harsh reality check. But what if someone had great potential without realizing it? Or what if that potential lay in a different area than they thought?

"Maybe," I said. "I would say not to put too much stock in what the admissions officers here think of you, but since they decide who gets in and who doesn't, I can't say that, can I?"

"Probably not," Kagami-kun said, "although most of us don't stand a chance of getting into the Main Course here or at Hope's Peak, so we don't worry about that sort of thing."

"I know," I said. "When I lost badly at the mahjong game against the pros, I was a bit disappointed, but I always knew I wasn't mahjong pro material- all I'd have to do was go back to my old school and work hard to forge my own path forward. Of course, I was chosen, and even after everything that happened, I'm actually grateful, since it's given me the chance to meet Sae and everyone else here."

"Even though you're stuck in this killing game?" Kagami-kun said.

"Yes," I said. "It probably would have happened without me, but now that I'm here, I can work to try to keep everyone alive. I've made mistakes and people have died on my watch, but I can't give up."

Kagami-kun smiled.

"So you don't let the school's title define your worth, do you?" Kagami-kun said. "I'm honestly a little jealous of your perspective, Miura-san."

"It's taken a while for me to acquire that perspective, Kagami-kun," I said, "and largely due to the fact that I actually remember my talent, so at least I have closure in that area. The answer you're looking for is yours to find, but I'm sure everyone else here can help."

Kagami-kun thanked me, then excused himself. While I'd long since concluded that my being in Talent High School was largely an accident, I had to wonder why the school itself was chosen for the imitation killing game.

* * *

After lunch, I encountered Sugiura-san looking around the computer lab. By this point, we'd tried turning on every computer and other machine, to no avail, so all that was left to find out why the computers weren't working, since this school clearly still had the power.

"I have a question, Sugiura-san," I said. "What kind of person do you think could have set up the killing game?"

Sugiura-san chuckled awkwardly. Either she knew as little as I did, or she knew the answer better than anyone but had every reason not to tell me. Once she composed herself, though, she decided to humor me.

"Definitely not someone who was working alone," Sugiura-san said. "No one person can run my family's restaurant- my father runs the business, the cooks make the dishes, the servers and I bring the dishes to the table, and there's other staff who clean and fix stuff. It's impossible for one person to have all the know-how, let alone the time, to do everything that needs to be done to keep the restaurant going."

"I get what you're saying," I said. "Of course, there's only one mastermind, isn't there?"

"Apparently," Sugiura-san said, "but let's be realistic. Do you really believe that any _one_ high schooler, no matter how talented, is capable of sealing the school, erasing our memories, creating a robot bear to watch over us and making all the execution machines that fit our talents?"

I shook my head. I had to wonder if the mastermind had prepared sixteen different execution machines, not to mention why each of them had to be so elaborate.

"No, I don't," I said. "In fact, I have a hard time imagining any adult professional managing this."

"That's right," Sugiura-san said, "and that's the unfortunate part. If only one of us had the talent to carry this out- for example, if I killed someone by poisoning them- then we could narrow it down to the person who had the talent suited to the job. Since we can't do that, and since the culprit's clearly hiding their true nature, then it could be anyone- hell, even Iwasawa could be the mastermind."

"She could," I said, "but do you really consider that a serious possibility?"

Sugiura-san shrugged, probably not having expected me to take her flippant remark seriously. I wasn't sure whether she thought Iwasawa-san was the least likely suspect, or chose her name at random.

"Not really," Sugiura-san said. "Kagami's probably suspicious, since his talent could be anything- or nothing- but I get the feeling they wouldn't want us to suspect him based on his talent. I could be wrong, though."

"Well, I'm not too sure about any of my theories, either," I said. "I do appreciate that you're willing to share, though, so thank you for your input."

"You're welcome, I guess," Sugiura-san said. "Pretty much anyone can share their opinion, no matter how uninformed it is, and we have hardly any facts right now. You know what they say about opinions being like assholes..."

I nodded silently, unsure of what to say to that.

"I will say this, though," Sugiura-san said. "The mastermind might be the one responsible for us winding in here, and the one we've got to catch if we want to get out, but we're our own worst enemies. Sakuragi, Hoshino and even Mitamura snapped and killed for various reasons, and under the rules, none of them are the mastermind. So while unmasking the mastermind's important, so is dealing with the next blackened, whoever they are."

"I know," I said, "As idealistic as it may sound, I'm trying to prevent it from coming to that. By solving the murders, I can prevent the rest of us from dying, but if I don't find a more permanent solution, more and more of us will die until virtually no one's left."

"Go ahead and try," Sugiura-san said, with a tone of stoic resignation. "Just don't be too surprised if there's another murder or two before you get to that point."

I left Sugiura-san for now, and thought back to when Kagami-kun had approached her in the kitchen after she'd served us dinner for the second time- the first after Mizuhara-kun's death. Back then, Kagami-kun had vaguely implied that he thought Sugiura-san might be the mastermind, and this time, Sugiura-san had more overtly accused Kagami-kun of the same thing. At most one of them could be right, but was either of them really the mastermind, or was it someone else? The only thing I was certain about was that I needed more information.

* * *

After dinner, I once again stopped by the vending machine for snacks with Sae. After she gave me mine, I handed Sae hers. As she accepted it with a "Thanks, Kaori," she couldn't help but chuckle a little after a moment. She'd sometimes used humor to break the ice, so it was a bit surprising to hear her honestly laughing.

"Is something funny?" I said.

"I'm just surprised," Sae said. "I didn't think it'd be this easy to talk casually with you."

"I'm personally surprised that _you're_ surprised," I said. "Inoue-kun, the only person to have met you before we came to this school, said he'd always thought of you as shy, but you never seemed that way to me."

Sae shrugged.

"Maybe his perception isn't entirely accurate," Sae said, "but the fact is that I haven't had any real friends before I met you."

"Why not?" I said. "You seem like you have good manners and get along well with others."

"Knowing the rules of a game doesn't automatically make you good at playing it," Sae said. "In chess, for example, you don't just need to know how all the pieces move, but also how to counter your opponents' strategies, take control of the board, and put your opponent in check. Going off that analogy, you don't just need to know the rules of social engagement- which are a lot more complicated and less defined than the rules of a board game- but you have to be someone people can like."

"And you aren't?" I said. "Mitamura-san didn't fully trust you, Kurogane-kun didn't like how you took my side, and Hoshino-kun… was Hoshino-kun, but I can't think of anyone else here who doesn't like you."

Sae sighed.

"The same was true when I was in school," Sae said, "but it wasn't quite enough for me to make friends. Because I got good grades, people respected me- when, that is, they weren't jealous of me- but while some people asked me to tutor them, no one saw that as reason to befriend me. I got a few confession letters in my mailbox- from both boys and girls- but since I didn't know the people who wrote the letters, I had to turn them down. For many years, people put me on a pedestal, seeing the most obvious and socially acceptable parts of me and treating me as more of an idol than a person."

I felt a bit uncomfortable hearing that, knowing that the same could have been said about me. I'd gradually grown out of that mindset, but not everyone had gotten to know Sae well enough to do so.

"Well, why not put that to the test?" I said. "Why not put yourself forward, and see if there's anyone who's willing to come out and befriend you?"

Sae shook her head sadly.

"I have to admit that never occurred to me," Sae said, "and I was partly at fault for keeping people at arm's length, being polite if not quite friendly. Still, every time a kouhai asked me to tutor them based on seeing my name near the top of the exam results, or I got a love letter from someone I'd never met, I realized that most people had very different expectations for our relationship, and were less interested in me as a person and more in me as an idol of sorts. The one time I thought I'd had a real friend only served to drive that idea home even further."

"What do you mean?" I said.

Sae took a deep breath and looked off into space, her expression a mix of nostalgia and regret.

"It was at the start of my third year in middle school," Sae said. "A girl who was in my class, Ayumi Matsukaze, had heard of my books, and asked me about them. At first, I thought Matsukaze-san was just a fan of mine, but it turned out that she was also an aspiring writer who wanted to follow in my footsteps, albeit in romance rather than mystery. She showed me her work from time to time, and told me that she really wanted to get published."

"Do you think her goal was a realistic one?" I said.

Sae sadly shook her head.

"Not especially," Sae said. "Not only were the odds steep, but Matsukaze-san had a number of bad habits- her romance arcs were somewhat contrived, her characters were underdeveloped and the stories in general were unrealistic- so she stood little chance of succeeding where so many had failed. Still, I started out that way, too, so I decided to give her the same help my father and my editor gave me- after all, many failures would have succeeded if they'd gotten enough help. She was humble enough to accept it, and I'd like to think that I made a difference."

I had to wonder what kind of story we were talking about- perhaps that of a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire, or that of a billionaire with a passion for bondage and the poor unfortunate woman who happens to be his lover- but didn't ask. We all had to start somewhere, including Sae, and if Sae had improved herself enough to become worthy of being published, maybe Matsukaze-san learned a thing or two from her.

"I'm sure you did help, at least a little," I said. "But what happened next?"

"One day, Matsukaze-san brought in a novel-length story, which she'd worked on over summer vacation," Sae said. "It was her most ambitious work, and probably her best, but she'd gotten better at writing, she still had a long way to go. After I finished reading it a few days later, she asked me if I thought that it could get published and I had to say no. This wasn't the first time she'd asked me for my opinion, or the first time I'd given that answer, but this time, she got angry with me."

I clenched my fist around the wrapper of the chocolate bar, which I'd since finished. I'd personally found it hard to accept being told something similar, but I recognized that my parents simply wanted me to find a more realistic career goal. Sae had done Matsukaze-san a favor by giving her input, and her "reward" had been her "friend" turning on her.

"I get where she's coming from," I said, "but that reaction's a bit... excessive. Shouldn't Matsukaze-san be grateful that you're offering to give your time to read and give constructive criticism on her work?"

"There was a reason why she took it as hard as she did," Sae said. "Her parents wanted her to focus on her studies and pass her high school entrance exams, and since her grades weren't as good as mine, they didn't think she could afford any 'distractions' like writing. Of course, she knew that after she got into a good high school, she'd need to get into a good college, then find a good job, so she saw this as her last chance to get published. For her, being told she wasn't ready was a bit like being told her appeal had been denied while on her way to the gallows."

"I know, but what do you have to do with it?" I said. "You were just trying to help her."

"The evening before I told Matsukaze-san my opinion, she'd had an argument with her parents," Sae said, "and they'd told here that there many writers our age who were better than her, _including me_. She then more or less admitted that she'd hoped I could make her a writer, which was the only reason why she'd talked with me. She never spoke with me again after that, and we ended up getting into different high schools."

While I personally understood the girl's perspective, I was finding it harder to sympathize with her. While I'd been disappointed to know that I'd have to find another way to earn a living, I knew that I could continue to write in my spare time, and maybe even get published someday, so it wasn't as though my dream was dead. Besides, I didn't think of Sae as my rival- if I got published, she'd definitely be happy for me.

"This might sound blunt, Sae," I said, "but I don't think that Matsukaze-san was really your friend. I understand her being upset about not being able to achieve her dream of becoming a writer, but she should've been happy for you, or at least grateful for your help."

Sae laughed out loud.

"Did I... say something wrong?" I said.

"Not at all, Kaori," Sae said. "You're actually right about her. I think I knew it all along, but couldn't accept it, since I was so happy to have someone I believed to be a friend. I just found it amusing because I've never heard you talk that way."

"I can be fairly blunt when I'm not trying to be polite," I said. "Just ask Monokuma."

Sae giggled, probably noticing how our roles had been reversed from what they were when they came to Kurogane-kun's grudge against me. I'd been somewhat understanding of Kurogane-kun, because I knew that I'd wronged him, while Sae was angry at his rudeness toward me. This time, I was the one who was angry that my best friend had been treated so poorly, while Sae was somewhat more forgiving, possibly out of some sentimentality toward her "friend."

"Seriously though," I said, "I put you on a pedestal at first, looking up to you and relying on you. In that regard, I'm no different from your throngs of admirers."

"Maybe you did look up to me," Sae said, "but I don't think you're like the people who hang out me because I'm an honor student, beautiful or a young author. I've noticed that you're kind and polite to everyone around here, not just me. You might feel differently about me than you do about the others, but you don't seen to treat me much differently, and you've made more of an effort to get to know me than most of my contemporaries do."

"I guess you're right," I said, "and after becoming friends with you over the past two to two and a half weeks, I can only say one thing- those people are missing out."

Sae chuckled and smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Kaori," Sae said. "Sometimes I wondered what things would have been like if I was ordinary- a mediocre student or writer without any exceptional traits. But after Yuuki-san told me that she wouldn't trade her talent for anything, I realized I felt the same way. Because I was able to write the Aiko Aizawa series, I was able to realize what seemed like an impossible dream, entertain many readers, come to this school and meet you. I wish the killing game had never started, but I don't regret what brought me here."

"I feel the same way, Sae," I said. "For the first time I can remember, I'm grateful for this so-called talent."

We talked for a while after finishing our snacks, and I left the room in a good mood. Sae wasn't my only friend here, but she was an especially dear one, and unique in several ways- we called each other by our first names, we could talk about almost anything and we could rely on each other. Perhaps she was right that I did feel differently about her.

* * *

I returned to the library, and thought about what Fukuda-kun had told me when I'd met him in the auditorium. The idea that one of us had changed radically and become a sociopath who didn't care about their classmates' deaths was a chilling one, especially considering that none of the others struck me as callous by nature. Of course, I learned a little about everyone each time I talked to them, so maybe it was a side I hadn't seen until now.

I decided to take a look at Sae's newest books- apart from the tenth Aiko Aizawa book, which had drawn my interest, I found the eleventh and twelfth volumes in the library. I quickly flipped to the author's notes, but found that Sae said relatively little about herself in there- the only noticeable personal touch was her thanking her friends, instead of just her editor and her family. Perhaps, during our time as students, Sae had also made friends of her own.

In the twelfth volume's author notes, however, there was something a bit more surprising. Sae thanked the readers for continuing to support her and her books "in these turbulent times," and briefly mused about the power fiction had. The author's notes didn't elaborate on what was going on, but apparently, Sae didn't thought she needed to.

I considered asking Sae about this, but didn't see any use in doing so, since she was probably as clueless about this as I was. Yet another lead had turned up nothing more than a dead end, and if I wanted to find the Mastermind, I'd have to seek out some other method of discerning that person's identity.

* * *

Shortly before the Night Time announcement, I stopped by the warehouse, and saw Iwasawa-san looking around inside. People stopped by the warehouse every time they needed something, which probably included some of the killers, but I think this was the first time someone spent more than a few minutes looking for something since the first few days had passed.

"Not here, either," Iwasawa-san said.

"I don't mean to intrude," I said, "but is this something I can help you with?"

"I appreciate the offer, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said, "but unfortunately, I doubt you could succeed where I failed. I was hoping to find something to wear to the memorial service tomorrow, but couldn't find any dresses or dark clothing."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "I've long since given up on finding clothing that suits my needs in there."

By now, most of us had found what we needed in the warehouse, or learned to live without it, but that didn't mean we couldn't think of new needs. While we always knew that people would likely die while we were trapped in this school, none of us expected to have to go to a funeral until Katsura-san came up with the idea.

"I'm curious about something, though," Iwasawa-san said. "What do people our age wear to funerals?"

"Believe it or not, our school uniforms," I said. "They aren't just something we wear because the school makes us, but quite possibly the nicest clothing we have on short notice. When my maternal grandmother died of a stroke when I was in my first year of high school, I wore what I'm wearing now to her funeral."

Back then, my mom, who wore a dark suit to her mother's funeral, had joked that she was the only one of our family who wasn't wearing a tie, a joke she told so that the rest of us wouldn't worry about her too much. I'd laughed along with my dad and sister, but deep down, I felt the same grief my mom was feeling.

"I understand," Iwasawa-san said. "Of course, these are the clothes I wear to school, since in my village, we don't see much point in paying for an expensive outfit that you only wear to school. Most of us only have a few suits or dresses for church and other formal events, after all."

"In that case, it's fine to come as you are," I said. "Mitamura-san did say that this is essentially your uniform, and I'm sure even she thinks your appearance matters less than being there for your dead classmates."

"Yes, she did," Iwasawa-san said. "Thank you, Miss Miura."

"You're welcome," I said. "Some rules are non-negotiable, but for others, like the unwritten social rules, I think it's only fair to take people's circumstances into account, and give leeway when necessary."

After seeing Iwasawa-san off, I thought about Mitamura-san for a moment. To most of us, she was serious to a fault and humorless for a classmate, but as an authority figure, she was surprisingly lenient. She knew she had no real power, but hoped to be a reliable individual who could guide us and keep us safe. She'd made mistakes, which I had no intention of repeating, but she wasn't wrong in trying to play this role, so I hoped to do so in her stead to the best of my ability.

* * *

After retrieving a pad of paper, a pair of scissors and a pen from the warehouse, I returned to my room for the night.

Once at my desk, I cut the paper into nine rectangular pieces, one for each of my classmates, and labeled each one with my pen. Taking the nine cards, I decided to rank them in terms of various criteria, going in ascending order from left to right. I wasn't entirely objective, but I thought this was a good place to start.

First, I sorted by intelligence- Sae ranked first, in light of her contributions to solving the various cases. Next, I sorted by how easily the people ranked could deceive others- Kagami-kun was ranked highest, considering how little we knew about him. Third, I sorted by how much they cared for others(in which case, the higher ranked people were less likely to be the mastermind)- and Sugiura-san was the most suspicious in this regard, now that Hoshino-kun was dead. Last, I decided to rank them in terms of how "unlikely" they were- mainly, those who'd consistently ranked low on the lists- since for all I knew, the mastermind was who I least expected it to be- Iwasawa-san, the kind. honest and slightly naive farm girl was the least likely candidate.

Of course, while it was a worthwhile exercise, it didn't get me much closer to finding the true mastermind. The mastermind needed more than intelligence or skill at lying to set up a scheme like this. They'd somehow managed to seal us in the school, remove our memories, ensure the authorities couldn't intervene, and even create Monokuma and the execution machines, all of which required significant resources, other people's assistance and technology beyond what we could even dream of.

There was also the question of why they were doing this. I was too familiar with human nature to assume that no one was capable of this, but cruelty alone wasn't enough to explain why they'd set up this killing game, or why they chose us. Maybe Kagami-kun was right and there wasn't anything rational about this- a frighteningly accurate guess given the circumstances- but I didn't know who among us was capable of such a thing. As terrible as it was to think about, someone was an entirely different person than we'd thought, and cared nothing for our lives, but who? If it could be anyone, even the one girl I least wanted to be the mastermind, then I felt even further from the truth.

Eventually, I got tired and went to bed, resolving to keep a close eye on the others. Perhaps by doing so, I could find some clue to indicate whether Sugiura-san or Kagami-kun was the mastermind, or whether there was a third major suspect I should consider.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Life doesn't make any sense, I tell ya._

 _I wrote this one book about a hotshot shogi player who gets beaten in a big match and then gets offed by some psycho in a bathroom, and the publishing house rejected it._

 _"The story ends too abruptly and senselessly," they said. "The main character has no arc and learns nothing from what happens," they said. "The supporting cast is defined by their relationship to the main character," they said._

 _Well, isn't that how life is?_

 _People's deaths don't mean anything, whether they get hit by a car while crossing the street or die in their sleep when they're old. They go through life, often staying the same inside. As for other people... their relationship to you is the only thing that matters, right?_

 _No wonder everyone makes up so many details when they write their autobiographies._

* * *

 _Day 17_

I woke up a bit early, and immediately went about getting myself dressed, making sure I looked just right. My mom was as serious about looking nice as she was about good manners, since she saw dressing well as a sign of respect to her employers, guests and hosts. For her, a conservative black skirt suit with a button-down shirt wasn't just proper funeral attire, but also something she wore to the office on a daily basis.

At breakfast, I saw Tezuka-kun waiting for me in the dining hall.

"Hey, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "I finished the portraits, and set them up in the auditorium."

"Thank you, Tezuka-kun," I said. "I appreciate your work."

"No problem," Tezuka-kun said. "You can count on me next time, unless I'm gonna have to make a self-portrait from beyond the grave."

I winced. The appropriateness about joking about this subject aside, it was most likely that Tezuka-kun wasn't the only one who believed there would inevitably be a "next time." I didn't blame the people who felt that way, but at the same time, I would rather put my energy into finding out who the mastermind would be than to trying to predict the next victim and killer.

As breakfast was served, I stood up and addressed the others.

"Good morning, everyone," I said, "I have an announcement to make. As you have heard before, the memorial service to the dead will be held at 8:30 AM in the auditorium on the fourth floor. Attendance is not mandatory, and you can come as you are- all I ask is that you be respectful to each other and those we have lost. Does anyone have any questions?"

I looked around the room, but no one spoke up or raised their hands until my gaze fell on Sugiura-san.

"None here," Sugiura-san said. "Unlike a certain someone, I know that if you don't have anything good to say, it's best not to say it, so I'll keep my mouth shut during his memorial."

"Thank you, Sugiura-san," I said. "You may not be the only one who harbors bitterness toward Hoshino-kun or the other killers, but I appreciate your consideration."

"No problem," Sugiura-san said. "Still, I will say this- burning alive's a pretty crappy way to go out, so I wouldn't even wish it on Hoshino."

The others fell silent, once again reminded of the brutality of Monokuma's executions. Dying young was bad enough, but perishing in such a gruesome and painful manner was even worse. It was perhaps too much to ask everyone to forgive the blackened, but at the very least, we could agree that they didn't deserve a death like that.

We finished the meal in silence, the somber subject of our brief discussion weighing heavily on our minds. The killing game often forced us to think about the unpleasant things, especially on a morning dedicated to mourning our dead classmates, but at the same time, there wasn't any benefit in avoiding thinking about such things. Perhaps we could achieve some sense of closure through this ceremony, or at least give the dead a better sendoff than they'd received.

* * *

After breakfast, the nine of us convened in the auditorium, where Tezuka-kun's portraits of the deceased stood on the stage. Each of them was a fairly simple yet tasteful painting of their profile, in a frame and with a ribbon. The students were wearing the school uniforms they had worn for the class portrait, whether because Tezuka-kun thought that better fit the picture, or because he used the portrait as a reference.

I took the stage, stood behind the podium and looked over the eight other remaining students, who sat in the front row. The auditorium could seat dozens of students, so even if all of us were still around it still would feel fairly empty.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," I said. "We are gathered here to honor and remember those who were taken from us during the past two weeks. Regardless of what they did or tried to do, we are not here to judge them for their actions- merely to mourn the loss of talented young people who were once part of our class, and perhaps close friends to some of us."

I placed Kurogane-kun's portrait on the podium, for all to see, then took it upon myself to eulogize him. Not only could I not think of anyone else who knew him well, since Sae was the only other remaining member of our group, but perhaps I could set an example for others to follow. I kept a box of tissues handy, for anyone who might need them.

"First, I would like to say a few words about Shiro Kurogane, the Ultimate Shogi Player," I said. "For the sake of honesty, I will admit that we had our differences- I wronged him by defeating him in a match, and he was justifiably angry. However, I did not want him to die, and in his last conversation with me, he said that he had no desire to kill me, either. He was passionate about shogi, and had a large family, both of which were compelling reasons to escape from here, reasons that everyone else here undoubtedly has. His death means that he will never realize his dreams or see his loved ones again, and it drives home a harsh but necessary truth- regardless of what disputes we may have with our classmates, or how badly we may want to graduate, nothing can justify killing. We cannot undo what has already happened, and may not be able to prevent it from happening again, but please remember this. Thank you"

I wondered if I came off as a bit self-righteous by saying that, but this was a necessary point, and no one seemed willing to contest it. By now, since we'd seen how brutally the three killers so far had been punished, and our lives had been in danger during the class trials, I think none of us wanted to see another murder.

"Next is Akito Sakuragi, the Ultimate Sprinter," I said. "Who would like to speak about him?"

I saw Fukuda-kun raised his hand.

"Fukuda-kun, please come onto the stage," I said.

Fukuda-kun walked up the steps to the stage. I replaced Kurogane-kun's portrait with Sakuragi-kun's before stepping aside.

"Thanks," Fukuda-kun said. "I'll be honest- I didn't know Sakuragi well at all, since we were only in here for three days when he died. He should have someone like his family, his friends or his teammates doing this, after all."

Fukuda-kun paused and cleared his throat, then took a moment to think about what he wanted to say next.

"But really, someone's got to do it," Fukuda-kun said. "Someone's got to remember him, both the good and the bad. In the three days I knew Sakuragi, I saw him as really driven, competitive and ambitious, for better or worse. He probably would've kept pushing himself even farther, getting his record even better, and running for as long as he could. I don't know what to say, except... he deserved better, and I wish I could've known him better. That's all."

"Thank you, Fukuda-kun," I said.

With a nod and a "You're welcome,"Fukuda-kun returned to his seat.

"Next, Minato Mizuhara, the Ultimate Fisherman," I said.

Sugiura-san raised her hand. After calling her up to the stage, I switched Sakuragi-kun's portrait with Mizuhara-kun's portrait.

"Thank you," Sugiura-san said. "While I was not especially close to Mizuhara, I've come to understand and appreciate what he had to do during his final days. He was faced with an impossible choice, and chose to do what he thought was best for the group as a whole. I only wish that he could have trusted us more, or that he was in a situation in which trust was safe to give. The only thing I can do to honor his memory is to do what is best for the group, and strive to be worthy of everyone's trust."

I thanked Sugiura-san as she left the podium, and I replaced Mizuhara-kun's picture with Mitamura-san's. While I'd previously asked for volunteers, this time, I knew the one person who most wanted and deserved to speak about Mitamura-san.

"Next, Reiko Mitamura, the Ultimate Proofreader," I said. "Iwasawa-san, would you like to say a few words?"

"Yes, please," Iwasawa-san said, and she walked up to the podium.

"I'd like to begin by admitting something," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura made mistakes- not just cheating on her test, looking at my notepad and killing Mr. Mizuhara, but trying to achieve an unattainable goal- perfection. Because of that, I can understand if some of you may not be able to forgive her."

Iwasawa-san's gaze fell on Sugiura-san. While we'd cleared Sugiura-san's name, the genie was out of the bottle, and we all knew that she was the Ultimate Poisoner. Because of that, and because Sugiura-san was less forgiving or close to Mitamura-san than Iwasawa-san was, Iwasawa-san probably understood that Sugiura-san would remain bitter about what Mitanura-san said.

"Despite that, Miss Mitamura also did many good deeds for us," Iwasawa-san said. "She was the first to try to get us to work together. She tried to ensure that we lived an orderly life within these walls, while working together to escape, since she understood the importance of discipline, cooperation and putting others before yourself. She helped anyone who needed it, including me. Because of that, I'm grateful to her, and I believe that she'd want us to be here now, working together to find a way out. We've lost many people to get this far, but our goal remains the same, and she would want us to keep working toward that goal. Every day, I try to emulate the person I saw Miss Mitamura as, since I believe that's what she would want me to do."

Iwasawa-san choked up a little.

"But..." Iwasawa-san said, "there's one thing I can't do for her. She asked us not to mourn for her, because she believed she didn't deserve it, but... I c-can't. I'm sorry M-Miss Mi-Mita...mura..."

Iwasawa-san bowed in apology and I could see tears streaming down her face. I gave her a moment to compose herself.

"That's all... I had to say..." Iwasawa-san said. "Thank you..."

Iwasawa-san then left the stage and returned to her seat, sniffling softly. I then replaced Mitamura-san's picture with Yuuki-san's.

"Next, Ami Yuuki, the Ultimate Cheerleader," I said. "Sae, would you like to speak about her?"

Sae nodded, then stepped up to the podium.

"Thank you, Kaori," Sae said. "When I first came to inside this school, I noticed that most of you- both those who died and who are still alive- were lost, a bit confused, or even somewhat on edge, having found themselves in an unfamiliar and dangerous situation. When I found Yuuki-san passed out in the gym, she greeted me as she would an old friend, even calling me by my first name. She was a kind person who saw the best in others, and treated other people how she wanted to be treated herself. Because of that, I was pleased to call Yuuki-san a good friend and dearly miss her."

Sae began to tear up a little, so I quickly gave her a tissue before taking one for myself. Sae then returned to her seat, and I switched Yuuki-san's portrait with Akasaka-san's.

"Next, Kuro Akasaka, the Ulimate Checkers Player," I said. "Katsura-san?"

Katsura-san nodded, then walked up to the podium.

"Thank you, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Kuro-chan and I came from different prefectures, had different skillsets and had very different career aspirations, so we probably never would have met if we hadn't come to Talent High School. Once we did meet, though, we found out that we had a lot in common. We had many siblings- Kuro-chan was the eldest in her family while I was the youngest in mine. We both enjoyed playing checkers. We both wanted to get home to our families without compromising our principles or sacrificing innocents to do so. The Akasaka family may never see their eldest daughter again, but I have one more reason that I want to escape from here- to tell them that their daughter was someone they could be proud of."

Katsura-san quickly left the stage, hastily wiping her eyes as she did. I then replaced Akasaka-san's picture with Hoshino-kun's. No one liked him, even before he killed two of our kindest and most well-liked classmates, but I had a certain amount of respect for him, so I hoped I could give him a fair and honest but still tasteful memorial.

"And lastly, Sora Hoshino, the Ultimate Astronomer," I said. "Since this may be... a difficult subject, I will speak about him. He always said what it was on his mind, regardless of how it was received. Living the way he did required many traits- commitment to one's principles, honesty and courage- so it was fairly admirable in some ways. He recognized that we were our own worst enemies, and that the killing game would continue until we found a way to end it ourselves. To that end, I promise that I will do what I can to end the killing, in the hopes that he is the last casualty."

I remained silent for a moment, and looked around the crowd. One of the mourners in attendance was the mastermind, someone who rejoiced or at least didn't care about the deaths of their classmates. They'd betrayed us the moment this killing game started, and most likely had only pretended to be a decent person. The killing game would only end when they were unmasked, and possibly killed. Of the nine people in this auditorium, at most, eight would escape.

That said, I did feel as though we were united, at least in this moment. Most of us had at least enough empathy to recognize that the deaths were tragic, even if we couldn't call the departed our friends. We were tired of all the death and tragedy, and had no desire to go through another class trial.

"That's all," I said. "I now ask for a moment of silence to honor the fallen."

Iwasawa-san knelt in prayer, while the others sat silently. After a minute, I said.

"Thank you, everyone," I said. "This concludes the memorial service."

As I stepped down from the stage, the others quietly filed out of the auditorium, each of us sharing the unrealistic hope that we'd never have to lose anyone else again. We had little reason to believe that would happen, but after the service, we were reminded of our reasons to hope that it would, so for a moment, we forgot about practicality and sought to achieve the impossible.

* * *

After the memorial service, Sae walked up to me as I stood outside the auditorium.

"Thank you for conducting the memorial service, Kaori," Sae said.

"You're welcome," I said, "but you should probably thank Katsura-san, too, since it was her idea."

"I plan on doing so," Sae said, "but you did well in your role, too, particularly considering that you gave heartfelt eulogies to Kurogane-kun and Hoshino-kun."

I shrugged, wondering if she'd set the standards low for me, a mere acquaintance of both boys.

"I was basically winging it," I said. "I did go to my maternal grandmother's funeral, but this is the first time I've had to do this for my friends, which is why I asked those closest to the victims to speak. Friends have come and gone, from my life but not like this."

I couldn't help but wonder what my old friends were up to sometimes, especially considering that two years had passed since we entered this school.

"Most of us are the same way," Sae said. "We expect our friends to move up a level, or maybe move to a new town, not get murdered during the night."

"True," I said. "I honestly don't know what sort of eulogy I could give for most of my friends, since I barely knew them. Maybe, 'I knew Arai-san from mahjong club. I'm grateful to her for bringing me on board, and she seems like she might have potential' or that sort of thing."

"I know," Sae said. "The same would have gone for Inoue-kun and I if one of us had been killed before we came here."

I'd considered asking Sae if Inoue-kun had changed at all from when she'd known him, but thought better of it. They'd been little more than acquaintances before coming to Talent High School, so even if one of them was the mastermind, it was unlikely that the other would know anything that would identify that person.

"Of course," Sae said, "knowing someone for a long time doesn't just give you many things to say about them. If you care about them, you have the ability to speak well."

"You might be right," I said. "Kurogane-kun and Hoshino-kun weren't very close to me, but I did feel something for them- regret that I couldn't reconcile with Kurogane-kun and some respect for Hoshino-kun's honesty- even if it wasn't friendship."

"I know," Sae said. "None of us can consider each other strangers at this point, which is why I hope there's never another killing."

I nodded, but knew that time was likely running out. Before long, Monokuma would likely introduce another motive, thereby leading to another murder and class trial... and there was no guarantee that we'd survive for the cycle to repeat itself. Because of that, I had to press forward and find the mastermind, without blindly rushing into a decision and doing something I'd regret.

* * *

I doubled back into the auditorium to see if I'd forgotten anything, and saw Fukuda-kun sitting in a chair by himself.

"Oh, hi, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "Did you leave anything here?"

I paused, then shook my head.

"Now that I think about it, no," I said. "Is something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about the dead students," Fukuda-kun said. "Ordinarily, it'd seem like their families and friends outside this school would be the best people for this sort of job, right?"

"That's right," I said. "Is there something wrong with thinking that way?"

"Not really," Fukuda-kun said. "Then again, with Sakuragi and the other killers, if they got actual funerals, then the people who hold them'll say that they killed people, right?"

"I... I'm not sure," I said. "I doubt they'd speak so harshly about the dead, or know that they'd done anything wrong, but it's possible that everyone there would know it."

"I see," Fukuda-kun said. "I was just curious- if you live a pretty good life and do something bad at the end of it, is the latter all you should be remembered for?"

I shook my head.

"No," I said. "Maybe people will think of it that way, but I don't think so."

"Glad to hear it," Fukuda-kun said. "Truth be told, I wasn't against Yuuki's idea of writing a book about this- I just didn't like the idea of all the killers coming off badly and being remembered as murderers. I mean, they did kill people, but they did more with their life, didn't they?"

I nodded in agreement.

"You're right," I said. "Still, I believe that if their stories are told honestly, some people may judge them, but others may understand that even if they made bad choices, they aren't necessarily bad people."

"I hope so, too," Fukuda-kun said. "Of course, if we want to write a book, we've got to get out of here, first, but I think pretty much everyone wants that, too."

"I certainly do," I said. "There's a lot of things I want to do once I leave this school, but going through a day without the fear of being killed is near the top of my list."

I said goodbye to Fukuda-kun, who stayed behind in order to think about things. For someone who hadn't had many close friends, the deaths of his classmates weighed on him heavily, possibly because he'd lost someone who might have become his friend. We were past the point at which we were strangers to each other, but I had to wonder- if I realized the mastermind's identity, would I be able to handle the realization that one of my friends had betrayed me?

* * *

I played a game of checkers with Katsura-san that afternoon in the rec room. There was nothing normal about life in a school in which anyone could die at practically any time, but I think Katsura-san enjoyed being able to resume what had become a pleasant routine for her, even if she couldn't do it with her best friend.

"I have a question, Katsura-san," I said, "and you don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

"I'll keep that in mind," Katsura-san said, "but first, I'd like to hear the question. Once I do, I'll decide whether and how to answer it."

I paused for a moment, and chose my words completely.

"It's about Hoshino-kun," I said. "Do you think it's possible for you to forgive him?"

Katsura-san sighed.

"It's hard to say," Katsura-san said. "He killed my best friend in this school and endangered my life, along with everyone else's. But while he's wronged me, do I have the right to forgive him? That seems like it would mainly be Kuro-chan and Yuuki-san's decision, but they're dead."

As much as I wanted to say that I believed that Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san would forgive Hoshino-kun, it was hard to tell.

"But I suppose I'm avoiding the question," Katsura-san said. "I can't ever forget that he killed two people who did nothing to deserve it, but at the same time, I realize that nothing good comes of hating him or seeking vengeance on him... a realization that's made easier by the fact that I'm relatively calm at the moment."

"I know how you feel," I said. "I didn't even hesitate to vote for Hoshino-kun, unlike the previous two, and I felt less regret about doing so."

"Fair enough," Katsura-san said. "Unlike Mitamura-san or Sakuragi-kun, he didn't confess to or show much remorse for his crimes, both of which would justify a harsher sentence. If I were a judge, that's probably what I would think... assuming my feelings didn't cloud my judgment."

Katsura-san's point was reasonable, but her tone turned ambivalent when making her suggestion.

"Ah yes," I said. "I remember you saying that you weren't qualified to pass sentence on people convicted of capital offenses."

"I did say that," Katsura-san said, "but now, I don't know if anyone is. Can any truly rational person consciously decide that someone has to die?"

"I honestly don't know," I said. "The main reason why I voted for the blackened was because I knew that if I didn't, all the spotless, myself included, would die."

"The same goes for me," Katsura-san said. "I did what I had to, but I'll probably regret the outcome for the rest of my life."

We played a few more moves in silence.

"I'm sorry," Katsura-san said. "When we're together, we always talk about fairly unpleasant things, don't we?"

"That isn't a problem," I said. "I was the one who asked the question, after all, and I knew that the answer probably wouldn't be a happy one."

"Fair enough," Katsura-san said, "but if it's all right with you, why don't we talk about something more pleasant?"

I nodded, and Katsura-san asked me about my older sister. While Monokuma played on our fears and weaknesses to divide us, knowing that we had much in common would help us think twice before we sought to kill those who were, in many ways, like us.

* * *

After dinner, I helped Iwasawa-san wash the dishes.

"I've been thinking about something, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "I still believe that Miss Mitamura is responsible for her own actions, but I have to wonder- did the mastermind design the motive with the plan for her to fall prey to it?"

"That's how the motives work," I said. "They give high school students who wouldn't seriously consider someone a reason to do that."

"I meant _her specifically_ ," Iwasawa-san said. "Maybe the mastermind had a grudge against her, wanted to show that someone 'perfect' like her could kill, or wanted us to be betrayed by someone we respected... well, most of us did."

I paused to think for a moment.

"You might be right, Iwasawa-san," I said. "Of course, the only two people I know of who disliked Mitamura-san were Hoshino-kun and Sugiura-san... and _maybe_ Kurogane-kun, now that I think about it. Neither was happy about the development, and Hoshino-kun is now dead."

"I know," Iwasawa-san said. "The mastermind seems like a person who can conceal their true personality and motives. With that in mind, I, as someone who respected Miss Mitamura, could be the mastermind."

I had to admit that Iwasawa-san was a possible suspect when I thought about it that way. The chance of that being true wasn't especially high, but it was enough that it would be far too early to narrow down the suspects to Kagami-kun and Sugiura-san.

"Maybe," I said. "Unfortunately, I don't have anything that conclusively proves- or disproves- that anyone's the mastermind. I know I'm not the mastermind, just as you aren't the mastermind, but I can't rule anyone out- not even Sae."

"A wise decision," Iwasawa-san said. "But if you don't mind my asking, Miss Miura, how would you feel if Miss Edogawa turned out to be the mastermind?"

"Betrayed, in a word," I said, "since she's my best friend, as well as the person I- the person I admired the most. I'd do what I'd have to in order to get the rest of us out of here, but I'd still grieve for her and maybe even remember some of our time together fondly. That's how you feel about Mitamura-san, don't you?"

"I do," Iwasawa-san said, "so we're similar in that regard. Still, while it may be my opinion, I do believe Miss Edogawa trusts you more than Miss Mitamura trusted me, at least inasmuch as Miss Edogawa is willing to lower her guard around you, so I believe she is less likely to betray your trust."

I nodded gratefully. While Sae was still a possible suspect, I decided to give her a lower priority until I found anything that would cast suspicion onto her. Unfortunately, with seven other suspects for the mastermind, I still had a long way to go before I could identify the culprit... and probably not much time. Perhaps the mastermind didn't think of me as a threat, but they wouldn't be willing to let this lull in the killing game last forever, or even much longer.

* * *

Shortly before I went to bed that night, I drew up a calendar of sorts, with five rows of seven squares each. Each square represented a separate day, with the number in the top-left corner and a brief description of what happened in the center of the square. On the first day, we'd woken up in the school. On the third day, Sakuragi-kun had killed Kurogane-kun. On the fourth day, the second floor had opened up, and on the night before the sixth day, Monokuma had given us the motive, starting the time limit on the seventh morning. On the eighth night, Mitamura-san had killed Mizuhara-kun. On the ninth day, the third floor had opened up, and on the twelfth day, we'd gotten a motive. In the wee hours of the morning on the fourteenth day, Hoshino-kun had killed Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san. The fourth floor had opened on the fifteenth day... and it was already the seventeenth night.

A chill went down my spine as I realized that according to this pattern, we would likely have a new motive tomorrow... and I had nothing that could prove the mastermind's identity. Ever since we'd been trapped in this school, some of us stayed calm, others feared for our lives and still others snapped and committed murder, but all of us had reacted in ways that were characteristic of people whose lives were almost constantly in danger. The mastermind was no exception, since they would be executed if we failed to identify the correct culprit, which was perhaps proof that Monokuma didn't care about them at all. Of course, considering that he was probably hoping that we'd kill an innocent person after falsely suspecting them of being the mastermind, he probably didn't think we'd get the right person on the first- or last- try.

I then had to wonder about the best-case scenario, in which only the mastermind died and we all escaped to safety, a ship that had long since sailed. Would Monokuma really be willing to let the killing game end so suddenly and anticlimactically? Or was it possible that the prospect of escaping the school wasn't as desirable as it seemed? While Monokuma didn't necessarily need to be cunning while he held all our lives in his paws, he'd probably thought things through enough that there was no easy way out for us.

Once again, with too many unanswered and uncomfortable questions on my mind, I went to bed, hoping against hope that the new motive would not come tomorrow morning.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Got something you want to say, but can't say it? Just write it and let people read between the lines!_

 _I can call someone a "motherf***er" and the censors will probably let it fly, but everyone knows that the person in question has sex with their female parent._

 _I can say D****n R***a, and while any idiot knows it's the video game about students trapped in a school, no one will accuse me of breaking trademarks._

 _It's just like that American game show, W***l of F*****e._

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the favorites and follows.

As Miura predicted, the motive's coming up next chapter. Because I've had to rework the murder somewhat, the latter two thirds of this Chapter- two chapters for the motive, one for the murder investigation and one for the class trial- will likely take longer to come out.

In the relatively near future, however, I may launch a series of side stories focusing on the cast while they were still in school, particularly once the main fic gets to Chapter V and VI, and we learn more about the school. The stories won't follow any specific order, and will show details about the characters and their life in the year leading up to the Tragedy.

What follows is a brief Edogawa-centric omake showing her coming out of her shell around people besides Miura. It's one of those scenes that happens when Miura isn't watching.

* * *

 **Omake**

 _Edogawa's POV_

After parting ways with Kaori, I found Inoue-kun in the library, sitting at a table.

"Good evening, Inoue-kun," I said. "Do you mind if I join you for a bit?"

"Ah, sure," Inoue-kun said. "Have a seat."

I nodded gratefully, pulled up a chair and sat down. The two of us looked through some of the books in the library together, a decent-sized stack out of an even larger collection of books. At this point, Inoue-kun realized that there were far too many books for him to look through them all, and he decided to focus his attention on ones that might have a lead.

"I'm a little surprised, Edogawa-san," Inoue-kun said "We've talked more a few times before, but you generally aren't one to ask me to spend time with you."

"I've had time to think about things," I said, "particularly who I might've met and how many friends I'd made if I'd been as open with others as I've been with Kaori."

"I can't say," Inoue-kun said. "Not everyone wants to be your friend, and some people might just take advantage of you. I can't blame you for being on your guard around others."

I remembered Inoue-kun mentioning one of his old friends, a young girl from America who'd tried to make friends but had been ostracized for her unfamiliarity with Japanese customs and her poor command of our language.

"I'll admit that's true," I said, "but even if I was afraid- of you seeing me as just another star student or hoping to take advantage of me somehow- I could simply have asked to eat lunch with you and see how things went from there."

"Like you did just now?" Inoue-kun said.

"You could say that," I said. "I've had to step outside my comfort zone ever since the killing game began, in both bad ways and good. Monokuma and the mastermind are to blame for the former, but I have Kaori to thank for the latter."

Inoue-kun chuckled softly. I think he'd always noticed that Kaori and I were close, and a part of him was happy for that.

"That's good," Inoue-kun said. "Even if the circumstances certainly could have been better, I'm glad our paths crossed again, and that I can get to know you better."

"So am I, Inoue-kun," I said.


	18. Chapter IV, Part 3

_Day 18_

I woke up before my alarm went off, and saw that there was more than an hour left until breakfast. Knowing that I couldn't get back to sleep even if my alarm wouldn't ring fairly soon, I quickly got dressed and headed to the dining hall. By the time I arrived, only Iwasawa-san was there, standing in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Iwasawa-san," I said.

"Good morning, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "You're up early."

"I had trouble sleeping," I said, "since I'm worried that Monokuma will release another motive today."

"They say hard work does help when you're looking for a distraction from your troubles," Iwasawa-san said. "That's why I'm glad I can cook meals for you all, since it gives me something to do for the group. Of course, I don't mind sharing lunch and dinner with Miss Sugiura, or with anyone else who's willing and able to volunteer."

Since Iwasawa-san had breakfast well in hand, I mainly helped bring the food to the table. For a moment, I forgot my worries, albeit knowing that Monokuma was probably waiting for everyone to get here.

Before long, everyone else came in to eat breakfast, and sat down to wait for their food. Once everyone was seated, and we'd started to eat, the monitor came on, confirming my worst fears.

"Attention, all students," Monokuma said. "Once you're done with breakfast, please come to the computer lab on the fourth floor. I've got a video game that I'd like you all to try out."

The monitor then shut off.

"So, this is the motive?" Katsura-san said. "I'm no expert on the gaming industry, but even if this game is in the beta test stage, Monokuma did a poor job of publicizing it."

I nodded. I wasn't a hardcore gamer or an avid follower of the gaming news, but I made certain to pay attention, and made note of when the publishers announced sequels to my favorite games. Obviously, video gaming was far from my mind given the myriad of more pressing concerns I had, but for a moment, I had to wonder how many new releases I had missed out on over the past two years.

"True," I said, "but by this point, I have to say that I was expecting this to happen, and even guessed the day that he would bring out the motive. That's one prediction I never wanted to come true..."

The mood immediately turned gloomy as the other students stared at me.

"But it can't be helped," I said. "Let's eat breakfast and then see what Monokuma has in store for us this time."

We finished our breakfast in silence, none of us willing to talk about our unease or let ourselves be distracted by banal chatter. There were times when we almost convinced ourselves that staying in this school wasn't so bad, but times like this reminded us that Monokuma had us here to play his twisted game, and he was willing to go to any lengths to get us to kill each other.

* * *

At Monokuma's request, we went up to the computer lab on the fourth floor, and saw Monokuma standing on the back of the chair.

"Here's a little present to all of you," Monokuma said. "Behold, your very own virtual reality gaming console!"

Monokuma showed us a gaming console with a headset connected to it by a long, thin cord. The headset went around the head, with a visor that showed what was on the screen and headphone-like pieces for the ears that played the audio input. There was also a pair of gloves that appeared to allow the player to interact with the virtual world's environment.

"That's nice," I said. "If we die in the game, does the console kill us in real life?"

"Who do you think I am, Akihiko Kayaba?" Monokuma said. "No, this is simpler. Just play through it, and you'll get a nice prize- information on what happened these past two years. You'll each get memory cards, so they'll record your progress and unlock your prize once you're done."

Monokuma handed us all memory cards, each labeled with our last names. The shape seemed oddly familiar for some reason.

"I guess that's a relief," I said. "But knowing you, this wouldn't be a real motive unless our lives were at stake, or you had some sort of incentive to get us to commit murder."

"Don't worry, Miura-san!" Monokuma said. "Neither you nor any of the other students here will die just because of someone completing this game!"

There was a lie or half-truth hidden in there somewhere, but at this point, I had no way of knowing. Monokuma could kill any of us for violating the rules, or execute the blackened, but did the lives of anyone outside these walls rest within his paws?

"So you're saying someone outside the school might die?" I said.

"Nope," Monokuma said, "at least not anyone _you'd_ care about."

I let off a sigh, knowing that if Monokuma was choosing to answer the questions he wanted to answer, rather than the ones I was asking, I wouldn't get anywhere.

"Do we have a time limit?" Sae said.

"Only until the motive serves its purpose," Monokuma said, "that is, until the end of the next class trial. If you bastards make it through the next trial, I'll let you up to the fifth floor and give you another motive after a while. If you don't... well, you know what happens, don't you?"

One would normally expect Monokuma to conclude that the motives became useless once a murder occurred, but this wasn't true. The second motive hadn't just been the impetus for Mitamura-san to kill Mizuhara-kun, but it had also served as one of many clues that led back to her.

"What happens if this console stops working for some reason?" Katsura-san said.

"If someone's to blame, they'll get punished," Monokuma said, "and if multiple people are involved, then _all_ of them are gonna have to die. If you wanna put one over on me, you'll have to do better than that."

I looked up and saw the security cameras in the room, both of which had a clear view of the console in the middle of the room, as well as anyone who might destroy it. The only way to evade their watchful gaze was by destroying them, and that, in and of itself, was a capital offense under Monokuma's rules.

"One more thing," Monokuma said. "No fair loaning your memory cards to anyone else. I'll update your handbooks with that rule."

I checked my handbook and saw a rule- "Only the person issued the memory card may use theirs. Loaning yours to another student is not allowed.

"That's all for now," Monokuma said. "Will you finish the game, or will one of you get murdered first? I'm looking forward to finding out."

Monokuma then left, once again beginning a fairly tense period in our already eventful lives inside this school. It was almost a given that the next murder would happen before I made any significant progress in deducing the mastermind's identity, but I couldn't help but hope that would not be the case.

"So what now?" Tezuka-kun said, echoing what was likely on everyone else's mind.

"While I doubt that Monokuma was completely honest with us," Sae said, "completing this game appears to be our only lead at the moment."

"True," Katsura-san said. "Information is a vital commodity no matter what route we hope to take to get out of this school- finding an escape route, killing the mastermind or coming up with some way to subvert the killing game- and we don't have nearly enough of it at this point."

"That's right," Fukuda-kun said. "If it turns out to be a bunch of lies, I'm sure we'll know."

"Then let's hold a formal vote," I said. "Is everyone fine with completing it?"

Everyone said "Aye." I was worried about what we could lose by playing this game (although it was possible that _not_ playing the game was equally unfortunate), but like Sae, I didn't see many other options at this point.

"Good," I said. "Who here has played a video game before?"

I raised my hand, but only Sae and Inoue-kun followed suit, an outcome I'd expected. Apart from Iwasawa-san, who'd barely laid eyes on anything as high-tech as a video game console before coming here, most of the surviving students spent so much time developing their Ultimate talents that they probably didn't have much time for hobbies.

"So, not that many people have actually played," I said.

"It seems so," Sae said. "As for me, I've only played a handful of times, so I don't have much experience."

"Me neither," Inoue-kun said. "I've heard about virtual reality games before, but haven't actually played any, so I doubt that my experience would be relevant."

"Same here," I said, "but someone has to play first, so I'll give it a try."

I sat down in the chair and putting my memory card in. I then put on the headset and gloves, before pressing the power button on top of the headset, near the back. Sitting down in the chair, I realized that the chair had some advantages, since no one could attack me from behind or turn the power off. Of course, since I couldn't see anyone with the headset on, I was just as vulnerable from the front as I was from behind.

An introductory sequence with chiptunes music played before showing the title- "Final Dead Room: VR Edition." Shortly after I started, Inoue-kun said something I couldn't quite understand.

"Sorry, Inoue-kun, I didn't quite catch that over the sound of the music," I said as I took the headset off.

"I was just asking about FDR:VR, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "Just focus on the game for now, and you can tell us more later."

"All right," I said. "Everyone, wait here. It shouldn't take long."

I then put the headset back on, disturbed by the implications. If the headset made it more difficult to hear what people were saying, anyone who wore it would be more vulnerable to a murder attempt from an assailant they couldn't see and probably couldn't hear. The actual in-game music was a gloomy and more oppressive tune that wasn't as loud, but it still was difficult to hear what other people were saying.

The inside of the "Final Dead Room" was a relatively small room, square-shaped and probably 10 meters wide on each side. I'd come in through a door labeled "Final Dead Room" in English, and my apparent exit from the room was a relatively ordinary-looking door on the far end, with the only distinguishing mark being a black revolver on a red hexagon. The walls were made out of brick, with what appeared to be dried bloodstains on them and iron bars in front of the door in and out, making the atmosphere quite eerie and ominous. As desperate as I was to escape from this school, I had to admit that at least it _looked_ like a normal school, rather than a hellish prison. The dark

So how would I get out of this room? The bars blocking my way appeared to be operated by a keypad with a four-digit password, but since there were probably 10,000 different passwords, I didn't have time to brute-force the combination, especially since I saw a timer that was counting down from 30 minutes when I checked my watch. After my initial investigation and response to Inoue-kun, I now had only 28 left.

It took me a minute or two to get used to moving, since the controls weren't entirely intuitive. By leaning forward in the chair, you could move forward at a leisurely walk, and you could back up very slowly by leaning back. It was a slow pace, but since the room wasn't very large and there didn't seem to be any monsters or traps to avoid, it didn't matter that much. Turning could be accomplished by twisting your torso in the direction you wanted to turn, and shifting back to your usual position once you wanted to stop turning. All this was a bit of an adjustment, but luckily, using your arms was more or less a straightforward process, since your avatar's arms followed your movements.

By the time I was comfortable moving around, I was down to about 23 minutes left, so I decided to take a stab at the problem at hand, and looked around the room. Apart from the doors in and out of the room, there was a desk with a laptop on it, a cabinet that was tall enough for a person to fit inside, and another 4-digit combination lock. There was some bloody writing on the walls- some numbers, "WATCH THE NEWS" and what looked like a compass on the floor- which was almost certainly a clue, even if I didn't know how it fit into everything just yet.

With the cabinet locked and no other leads available, the only apparent option was the laptop, which was protected by a password. There were seven spaces for capital letters, and each had a number, from 0 to 6, below them, in ascending order from left to right. Without any apparent clues around the room, I went with what seemed like the most obvious route- the days of the week. First, I entered the first letters of the days of the week in Japanese- NGKSMYD- but was told that the password didn't work.

As I weighed whether to use the English names- SMTWTFS- and/or change my order, I quickly checked my watch to see whether I had time for that. Much to my unpleasant surprise, I realized I only had 16 minutes left, even though it hadn't been more than two minutes since I sat down to try my hand at getting the laptop.

"Quick question," I said. "I've got a seven-letter password to put in, with slots numbered 0 to 6. Which day of the week do you think would be Day 0?"

"I'm honestly not sure, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "When God created the world, He rested on the seventh day, which is why Sunday is our holy day. I'd assume Sunday's Day 0, but I'm not sure."

"That's what I just tried," I said. "Maybe I'm on the wrong track, but when it comes to sets of seven, only the weekdays come to mind."

"Yeah, but who knows?" Tezuka-kun said. "Maybe one of the items in that set doesn't count, which is why it's a zero. One time, Hoshino got on my case because I thought Pluto was still a planet, after all."

"Thanks for the idea, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

I put the headset back on, and saw I was down to 15 minutes, half my original time. Without wasting a second, I input the first letters of the English names of the sun and the first six planets- SMVEMJS.

This time, it accepted my password, and I was able to access the laptop. There was a blank desktop with no folders, no menus and only one shortcut- to a game of "Simon Says." I used the touchpad to access the application, at which point the game started up. A few moments later, the game displayed a "MISS," and five more minutes were deducted from my watch, leaving me with less than ten remaining. If the game wouldn't show me its directions, I'd have to listen for them, which would require me to turn up the volume on my headset.

I tried again, and heard "Alpha" announced in a computerized voice. Unfortunately, I thought that meant I had to type "Alpha," so while inputting the "A" was correct, the "L" was not, and I lost five more minutes.

I played one more time, and completed a few rounds, with each round adding another number to memorize. On the seventh round, I made another mistake, and the game came to an end. The screen went to black and showed "GAME OVER," before switching to a screen that said "Time Until Next Attempt: 23:59:59."

"What happened?" Sae said as I suddenly took off the helmet.

"I ran out of time," I said. "Apparently, you have 30 minutes to complete the puzzle and are deducted five minutes for each mistake you make. Because my time expired, I won't be able to try again for at least 24 hours."

"In other words, don't screw up," Sugiura-san said. "Then again, it's good to hear that the consequences of losing aren't too bad. I'm no expert on gaming, but I don't think there's a whole lot of games you can do in just one attempt."

So at the very least, Monokuma was telling the truth when he said the game wouldn't kill the people who lost it. Of course, since his goal was not merely to kill us, but to get us to kill each other, I doubted that he'd have a death trap in the form of a video game.

"Do you mind if I give it a try?" Sae said.

"Go ahead," I said, before giving her a basic explanation of the controls, the solution to the first puzzle and information on how to play Simon Says.

I took out my memory card, and gave the headset to Sae, who put hers in the console before sitting down. A minute or so later, she got up and took off the headset.

"Is something wrong?" I said.

"You could say that," Sae said, as she handed me the headset.

A timer was counting down, saying "Time Until Next Turn: 1:55:34."

"So not only does anyone who loses get kicked out for an entire day," I said, "but _no one_ can access the game for the next two hours."

"Gotcha," Tezuka-kun said. "So we come back at 11 or so?"

I checked my watch, and saw that it was a few minutes past 9 AM. Everyone else checked the clock in the room.

"Sounds about right," Sugiura-san said, "but we should probably establish some rules first. For starters, no one plays during Night Time?"

That sounded like a good start. While it was tempting to get as many attempts as possible per day, the last thing we wanted was for someone to get murdered during the night. The computer lab wasn't off limits, though, so following that rule was was entirely up to us.

"I agree, Sugiura-san," Katsura-san said, "but I also think that there should be additional countermeasures to prevent murders. I think Miura-san's two-guard system for the display case was a fundamentally sound idea, so perhaps we could have each player have a 'buddy' with them to make sure no one sneaks up on them?"

While Katsura-san left it unspoken, there was a bit of subtext to the plan. If a murder occurred while someone was playing the game, either the chaperone would be the culprit... or they would see who did it.

"That's a good plan," I said. "Is everyone in favor of those rules?"

Everyone said "Aye."

"Good," I said. "If you want to play the game, please pick a partner you trust."

Sae and I were the first to form a partnership, and after a moment, Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun teamed up. The remaining five weren't as easy to pair up with, but Fukuda-kun picked Katsura-san, leaving three people- Kagami-kun, Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san. Considering that two of the remaining three suspected each other of being the mastermind, and one of them might be right, it was obvious who they'd choose as a partner.

"Iwasawa, I'd like you to be my partner," Sugiura-san said. "I'm hesitant to completely trust anyone in here, but you seem like the safest bet."

"Certainly, Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa-san said. "I don't feel confident in being able to play the game without causing some problem, though, so I'll just watch you... and Mr. Kagami, if he wants me as a partner, too."

As Iwasawa-san turned to Kagami-kun, he simply shook his head.

"I'm fine, Iwasawa-san," Kagami-kun said. "To be honest, I'm a little worried about the game, but I'm confident that if there's information to be found, one of you will find it."

"Then it's settled," I said. "I'll write down the names of who has who as a partner, although it shouldn't be too hard to keep track of that."

Once again, we had a goal of sorts to work towards, as well as some hope of finding more information. I hoped it might serve to uncover the mastermind, but if the game was our only hope of gathering information, and playing it played into the mastermind's hands, then I couldn't tell anything from who wanted to play and who didn't.

* * *

After we finished for now and dispersed for the next two hours, Kagami-kun walked up to me.

"Do you need something, Kagami-kun?" I said.

"I'm curious about something, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said, "namely, your Ultimate Beginner's Luck. If it works on any game you haven't played before, wouldn't it work on a video game like this?"

I was slightly caught off-guard. It had been a while since I'd talked about this talent, or thought of it as anything other than the reason I was stuck in here.

"In theory," I said. "I can understand why you'd think so, but the short answer is that it doesn't work that way."

"And the long answer?" Kagami-kun said.

"My Beginner's Luck is a bit of an insight into what my opponent will do," I said, "more specifically, a _human_ opponent. When I play against computer opponents, they're simply lines of code intended to simulate what an opposing player might do, rather than an actual person. It's possible to understand the AI well enough to read and predict its moves, but my talent doesn't help."

"So in other words, it doesn't do any good here," Kagami-kun said. "What about human opponents?"

"I play multiplayer games with my older sister sometimes," I said, "but since she isn't much of a gamer, I'm usually at a significant advantage. Besides, I've played enough that my beginner's luck isn't a factor."

"Ah," Kagami-kun said. "So in gaming, your victories come as the result of the experience you've earned and the skills you've honed through your hard work."

I shrugged. That was certainly the case with role-playing games, which were some of my favorite types of video games, but I didn't know whether his statement applied to me as a player.

"You could say that," I said, "but since I haven't played a game like this before, I'm on par with the rest of you. Video games require vastly different skillsets- playing an old-fashioned RPG may not prepare you for a modern RPG, much less a first person shooter."

"I thought so," Kagami-kun said, "but my point still stands. You and the other talented students are all on a level playing field, so it's entirely possible that you'll be able to outdo them and complete the game first."

"Assuming someone doesn't complete it before I get to play again," I said. "But anyway, Kagami-kun, this isn't a race... or at least I don't think of it as one."

"You might be right," Kagami-kun said, "but I do have to wonder- why did Monokuma lock anyone who fails out for 24 hours, whereas the other people are only locked out for two?"

"Good question," I said. "The obvious answer is to penalize whoever fails, but what's the point of all this? Usually, the motives provide a reason to kill, or at least the means to do so, but I don't see either here."

"Neither do I," Kagami-kun said, "but it can't hurt to be careful."

I couldn't help but agree. Usually, Monokuma was somewhat more obvious about providing us with reasons or means to murder, but I couldn't tell how the game was supposed to get us to kill each other. Generosity clearly wasn't in Monokuma's nature, but I strongly doubted that if he set a trap for us, we could avoid it simply by not playing it.

* * *

Just after 11 AM, Sae took her first turn at the video game, but didn't get much farther than I did.

"Well, that's that," Sae said as she took off the headset and removed her memory card. "I guess that's about as well as I could hope to do on my first try."

"You said you played before, didn't you?" I said.

"I did," Sae said, "but only a handful of times, and none of the games I played were much like this."

I had to agree. While FDR:VR seemed to have been produced in the last few years, in terms of design, it seemed fairly amateurish, like a one-person production. With today's level of technology, FDR:VR wouldn't be able to coast by on its virtual reality gimmick, but would have to be an enjoyable game in its own right, lest it suffer the fate of a certain portable video game console.

"I'm curious about something, Sae," I said. "Would you describe your father as fairly strict?"

"Fairly so, yes," Sae said. "Father believes that he and Mother are authority figures, to whom my sister and I owe our respect and obedience. Whenever he asks us to do something- or not to do it- he expects us to do as we are told."

"Ah, so that explains why your father wasn't keen on you writing," I said. "I take it he also banned video games?"

Sae nodded,

"My sister and I weren't allowed to play video games, or take part in any hobby that distracted us from our studies without some sort of benefit," Sae said. "For example, reading and writing were acceptable so long as they helped us hone our abilities. Of course, that didn't mean my sister didn't spend some afternoons in video arcades, or invite me to play video games with her when Father worked overtime."

"That's certainly bold of her," I said. "Did you accept her invitations?"

"I usually did, unless I was busy with homework," Sae said. "She offered to cover for me if we got caught, but while I appreciated that, I knew it wouldn't help much when Father was concerned."

"Wow," I said. "I didn't expect you did something like that."

Sae chuckled softly.

"I'm not necessarily a risk taker, but I don't always follow the path of least resistance," Sae said. "If that was true, I'd have simply focused on my studies until I graduated from college, then accepted my father's offer to introduce me to an eligible bachelor. I wouldn't have even dreamed of reading- much less writing- mystery novels."

For the "path of least resistance," it certainly sounded like hard work for Sae- studying hard, keeping a relationship together, and possibly holding down a job and/or raising children. Of course, my dad had once told me that because doing well in school required all my energy, I couldn't afford any distractions.

"I suppose it's a bit hard to imagine you working an office job or being a housewife," I said, "but since you're bisexual, couldn't you just 'choose' to marry a man?"

Sae smiled and shook her head.

"You can't 'choose' who or what you love, Kaori," Sae said, "only whether you act on those feelings. There are times when the wiser choice may be not to do so, but I'm glad I followed my love of writing. As for love, well... if the person I loved happened to be a woman instead of a man, and she felt the same way, Father would just have to live with it."

My conversation with Sae had left me with a lot to think about. For much of my life, I'd assumed that most of my pursuits were unattainable, possibly so that I'd never have to worry about deciding whether to pursue them. Perhaps I wouldn't necessarily get what I wanted, but if I ever got out of this school, I owed it to myself to at least make an honest effort.

* * *

At around 2 PM, I found Iwasawa-san in the computer lab with Sugiura-san. The former was standing watch, while the latter was sitting in the chair, inspecting the console and headset.

"Oh, hi, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "Sorry, but you can forget about my completing the game."

"Did something happen?" I said.

"Take a good look," Sugiura-san said, handing me the headset.

I put on the headset and looked through the goggles. It didn't show the title or any gameplay, but a blue screen, and an error message.

 _ERROR #11037: Memory Card Cannot Be Read_

"So your memory card doesn't work?" I said as I took off the headset

Sugiura-san shook her head.

"I asked Monokuma about it," Sugiura-san said, "but he essentially told me 'Tough luck, I'm not going to replace it.' He wouldn't last very long working tech support."

"Or any job," I said. "There aren't a lot of careers for sadistic robot bears who love saying the first thing that pops into their heads."

"True," Iwasawa-san said. "But I have to wonder- did Monokuma even make this? Because if not, he's hardly responsible for the condition of the console or the other hardware."

"I suppose not," Sugiura-san said. "But he does want us to actually complete this game, doesn't he?"

"Probably," I said. "While he only gave us until the next murder to finish it, he did prohibit anyone from breaking it."

Those two seemingly contradictory rules were a bit confusing. The latter seemed to indicate that Monokuma hoped that someone would eventually finish the game, but if that was true, then why did he give us a time limit, albeit an indefinite one?

"Which is part of the reason why I'm not playing it," Iwasawa-san said. "If I make a mistake and break the console, I'll be executed, and we'll lose our chance to find the truth. That's why I hope it still works."

I tested out the console with my memory card, and saw the same countdown screen that we'd seen when I first finished the game, with the countdown having gone down a few hours since my first attempt at playing.

"Well, it looks like the console's still workng for now," I said. "If you'd rather not play, Iwasawa-san, I'll understand. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you just because of a senseless accident."

Granted, there was no sense in any of the death and tragedy that had occurred in the course of this killing game, but if it was hard to accept that our classmates killed each other and were executed, it was even harder to accept that they could die solely due to chance. If there was any reason behind this killing game, it would be a question that the six of us still playing would be able to answer, so I hoped that eventually, one of us would clear the game and earn the prize.

* * *

It took until 3 PM for the next person to come up and take a shot at the game. That "someone" was Inoue-kun, with Tezuka-kun as his buddy. When I found Inoue-kun, he'd just gotten done.

"Well, that's about as far as I can go," Inoue-kun said.

"How did it go?" I said.

"I finished Simon Says," Inoue-kun said. "There's a total of about 10 levels, so you weren't too far from the end. Unfortunately for me, I had less than two minutes left, so I couldn't see the next puzzle. I did, however, get a key, so I should be able to open the cabinet next time... assuming that Monokuma or whoever made this game doesn't expect us to do it in one sitting."

"There are some games like that," I said. "Back in the day, most games didn't have save game features or even passwords- you just had to get through them with only a handful of extra lives, which meant practicing the game over and over again until you honed your skills enough to complete the game."

Both boys chuckled nervously.

"Holy shit," Tezuka-kun said. "Maybe I should leave it to the others, 'cause otherwise, I'd just be wasting two hours."

"I get where you're coming from, Tezuka-kun," Inoue-kun said. "You really know your stuff, Miura-san."

I blushed a little. There was a time when I'd be surprised to have to explain something to an Ultimate, but I'd long since come to realize that we

"I'm not an expert or anything like that," I said. "I just happen to know about something no one else has tried before."

"Well, isn't that part of what talking's all about?" Tezuka-kun said. "You talk with your friends and teach them stuff they didn't know before, right? Maybe that's why the school brought all of us with different talents together."

I nodded. While betrayal was a very real danger in this killing game, we could gain much by cooperating. Even after three people had committed murder and endangered the other survivors in an attempt to graduate, and the mastermind remained among us, I still believed in the importance of working together, simply because that was a large part of the reason why we'd survived thus far.

* * *

After dinner, I sought out the next person to play the game, knowing I was short on options. Inoue-kun, Sae and I had exhausted our chances to play for the day. Iwasawa-san, Tezuka-kun and Kagami-kun were unwilling to play. Sugiura-san's card was defective, so she couldn't play even if she wanted to. That only left two possibilities- Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun. It took me a little while to find everyone, so a little while after we finished having dinner at 7:40 PM, I walked with Fukuda-kun and Katsura-san to the computer lab.

Fukuda-kun was able to clear Simon Says after a few tries, noting that it was fairly easy for him to memorize things.

"3, huh?" Fukuda-kun said.

"What's this about?" I said, speaking up a bit so Fukuda-kun could hear me over the sound of the music. Since he didn't need to take off the headset, he could probably understand me.

"Oh, I opened the cabinet after clearing Simon Says," Fukuda-kun said. "I saw a number painted on the back of it, and I'm trying to find where it goes."

"I recall there were three others around the room," I said, "as long as a 'Watch the NEWS' message on the wall."

"News, huh..." Fukuda-kun said. "N-E-W... Of course!"

Fukuda-kun pumped his fist exultantly.

"Did you find something out, Fukuda-kun?" Katsura-san said.

"Yeah," Fukuda said. "The four letters are compass directions- North, East, West and South. I saw four numbers- 7, 6, 5 and 3. I'm guessing those are the right ones."

"Good catch," I said.

"It wasn't anything big," Fukuda-kun said. "It takes all I've got to pass Geography and English, but knowing compass directions and how to read maps are really important skills for a guy like me, who likes hiking."

Fukuda-kun paused, apparently entering the four numbers into the first combination lock. Judging from the annoyed wince on his face, I could tell that wasn't the correct one.

"Crap, 7653 isn't right?" Fukuda-kun said.

"Did you input them in the right order?" Katsura-san said. "I'd imagine that North is first, East is Second, West is third and South is last."

"Thanks, Katsura," Fukuda-kun said. "Here goes."

Fukuda-kun then input the combination and said "It works!"... only for his time to run out moments later.

"What time is it?" Fukuda-kun said.

"A few minutes after 8," I said, looking at my watch.

"Damn," Fukuda-kun said. "Sorry, Katsura."

"It's all right, Fukuda-kun," Katsura-san said. "I suppose I'll have to try again tomorrow."

As Fukuda-kun got up, removed his memory card and put it back in his pocket, Katsura-san left for her room. Once she was gone, Fukuda-kun stayed behind.

"So, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "How's it feel to face a challenge that involves something you're actually good at?"

I shrugged. I wasn't all that good at video games, and the skills that I had at using a controller didn't necessarily translate into playing a VR game. Still, Fukuda-kun wasn't trying to compliment me, but trying to find out more, so I decided to humor him and answer his question.

"It's a bit nice," I said, "a bit like if a game show asks about your favorite movie."

"Yep," Fukuda-kun said. "I always like when that happens, even if I know I wouldn't make the cut to get on one of those shows... or I'd make an ass out of myself if I did."

"I'm the same in that regard," I said. "Of course, I don't think the people who make those shows want people to win _too_ easily."

Fukuda-kun nodded.

"Seriously, though," Fukuda-kun said, "I've had times when I almost regretted having my talent, since it's done jack squat after spending almost three weeks indoors."

"Yuuki-san felt the same way," I said, "guilty that she couldn't do more to help us, and a bit jealous of Sae and I for what we could do. Of course, in the end, she didn't regret being the Ultimate Cheerleader, and wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Neither would I," Fukuda-kun said. "I might not be able to do much for you guys now, but that's why I'd like to get out of here- so I can pay you back someday."

"You don't _have_ to," I said, "but if doing so will make you feel better, I'll hold you to it."

Fukuda-kun thanked me, and we went our separate ways for the night. Tomorrow, if everyone was still around, we'd take another stab at the game, and perhaps make some more progress toward the goal.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _If you're starting here, I bet you're pretty confused right now._

 _What the hell is wrong with this school, which looks like a low-budget ripoff of Hope's Peak Academy?_

 _Who are these nine young punks, and why are they acting like almost half of them bit the dust?_

 _Why are they so excited and/or worried about a video game?_

 _Welp, it can't be helped. After all, you were born into a world that's been going for countless years before you came along, haven't you?_

 _Your parents, your teachers and all the people who were adults when you were a kid had their own character development and story arcs before you even popped out of your mommas womb._

 _The same goes for you. You won't live nearly long enough to see how this world ends unless you're one of..._

 _Oops, almost spilled the beans! Guess that's a wrap for now._

* * *

 _Day 19_

As soon as everyone was at the table for breakfast, Katsura-san stood up to address the group.

"Everyone, I have something to say to all of you," Katsura-san said. "We shouldn't play the game."

"It's all right if you don't want to play it either, Miss Katsura," Iwasawa-san said. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"That's not it, Iwasawa-san," Katsura-san said. "I believe we, as a group, should give up on finishing FDR:VR."

For a moment, we remained silent, somewhat taken aback. For all of our different personalities, we generally worked with the same information, so it was only natural that we'd come to the same conclusions- from who the latest blackened was to what we needed to do next- so why had Katsura-san suddenly decided to speak out against our current course of action?

"Why not, Katsura-san?" Inoue-kun said. "You were in favor of finishing it, weren't you? What changed?"

Katsura-san remained quiet for a moment, and as she remained silent, I thought of all the time she'd expressed her willingness to complete FDR:VR. I could think of any number of answers she might have, and believed she wouldn't hesitate to give hers, but it took a few seconds for her to speak.

"I...I've had time to think it over," Katsura-san said, "and I'm no longer sure it's a good idea. That's all."

Sugiura-san frowned, clearly unconvinced. Meanwhile, Tezuka-kun looked fairly skeptical, but that sentiment was directed at Katsura-san, rather than the rest of us.

"Does it matter why Katsura's speaking out?" Fukuda-kun said. "It's not like Monokuma's making us play this, so maybe we shouldn't if we don't want to."

"He isn't," Tezuka-kun said, "but I think the information's worth checking out at least."

"Exactly," Kagami-kun said. "If we don't play this game, it's possible Monokuma will switch from the carrot to the stick, and come up with a harsher motive."

I looked around and sighed. Perhaps Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun had their reasons for not wanting us to finish FDR:VR, but their arguments weren't convincing anyone else here, myself included.

"I'm sorry, Katsura-san," I said, "but while I understand your concerns, if you do not have any concrete reasons why we should not play FDR:VR, I believe the best course of action would be to stay the course until we find some reason why we should not."

"That's fine, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Please just forget I said anything."

"All right," I said. "Just remember- if there's something on your mind that you'd rather not talk about in front of everyone else, I'm always available for a chat."

Katsura-san nodded hesitantly and said "Thank you for the offer, Miura-san," but didn't take me up on it. Perhaps things would be different if Akasaka-san were still alive, since even if Katsura-san didn't trust me for some reason, she probably would trust her best friend. By talking with Akasaka-san, Katsura-san would be able to find a solution, or at least feel a little better.

Of course, the past couldn't be changed, nor could the fact that Katsura-san didn't trust any of the living student(a group that included the mastermind) with her problems. Since we didn't know whether she had some reason for opposing completing FDR:VR or was simply nervous, and wouldn't get any indication either way from talking to her, we didn't pursue the subject for now, and simply ate breakfast in silence.

* * *

Despite the fact that my lockout period expired shortly after breakfast, I decided not to play FDR:VR immediately, since I wanted some time to think and to talk to Sae. Since Sae was the only other person left who'd regularly talked with Katsura-san, I decided to ask about breakfast.

"I'm curious about something, Sae," I said. "Did Katsura-san have any private discussions with you recently?"

Sae shook her head. I wondered if she refused to disclose what she and Katsura-san had talked about, but there was apparently nothing to report.

"Not since the motive arrived," Sae said, "so I don't have any more idea about her sudden change of heart than you did."

I sighed, disappointed, then tried to change tack.

"I thought so," I said. "Do you think Katsura-san wasn't acting like herself?"

"Probably," Sae said. "Katsura-san is usually a highly logical individual who believes that the foundation of a good sales pitch is a compelling argument based in facts. While we were on guard duty together, she once suggested a sales pitch for my Aiko Aizawa books that would play to the books' strengths and cite praise from the most respected book critics. She said that as popular as my books were, we couldn't simply rely on my name or Aiko's to sell the series."

"That sounds like her," I said, "which is why its's so odd that she'd suggest abandoning our efforts to finish FDR:VR merely on a hunch. If she thought it was for the good of all of us, I'm sure she could have thought of a more compelling argument."

"True," Sae said. "Of course, she did give up surprisingly quickly. If she were adamant about not wanting any of us to finish the game, she probably would have argued her point more fervently."

I nodded, and thought about the blackened for the moment. From our perspective, they seemed oddly stubborn, to continue to falsely protest their innocence even as we became more convinced of their guilt, but they had no choice- they knew they'd die if they lost, so they struggled to the bitter end. It was clear that Katsura-san felt strongly about her belief that we shouldn't finish FDR:VR, but did she have anything to lose?

"Fair enough," I said, "although the fact that only Fukuda-kun seemed to argue in favor of her position- and not all that strongly, at that- certainly doesn't help Katsura-san's chances. I have to wonder if she simply accepted the majority's decision."

"Perhaps," Sae said, "but I can't help but feel concerned about her acting this way. Of course, I don't know her well enough to know for certain what she's hiding."

Since it hadn't yet been three weeks since we'd met each other, we didn't know enough about one another to know our classmates as intimately as we'd know our families or lifelong friends. The best we could manage in our current situation was an educated guess, which was probably why it was to the mastermind's advantage to revert us to mere strangers, eliminating all the trust and familiarity that we'd built up at our time at school. Still, if something was on Katsura-san's mind, I hoped she'd trust me enough to tell her.

* * *

At noon, Sae was the first to try playing the game, since everyone else who wanted to play was either still pondering what Katsura-san had said at breakfast, or still had time left before they could try again. Because of that, the console was available when we got there.

"Last night, Fukuda-kun found the first four-digit password," I said. "Try using it, and you should be able to skip the first three puzzles."

Sae did as I said, then shook her head.

"It won't work," Sae said. "Apparently, you need to do the first two puzzles."

I let off a sigh. Any game that was too long for people to finish in one sitting, and even some that weren't, generally had at least a few methods to save progress or skip over certain parts of the game.

Sae started with the first password, having only wasted a minute or two on her attempt to find a shortcut.

Sae made a few mistakes on Simon Says, but was able to get past it, and move on to the next puzzle.

"The next puzzle seems to be a magic square," Sae said. "You know, one of those things in which every row, column and diagonal adds up to the same number."

"I've heard of those," I said. "What's the twist here?"

"Apparently, some of the squares are filled in already," Sae said, "and of those that are blank, some are highlighted. Perhaps the latter have something to do with the password."

I paused to think for a moment.

"So the numbers you put in those squares might be the ones that you use for the final password?" I said.

"Probably," Sae said. "We'll only know when we solve the puzzle."

Unfortunately, Sae didn't quite manage that task. Even trying to put a number in a wrong slot was punished with a 5 minute penalty, so Sae quickly ran low on time.

"I'm not going to make it," Sae said, "so could you please get a pen and paper and jot down what I'm about to tell you?"

"Got it, Sae," I said, and grabbed a pen and paper from the nearby help desk.

Sae then described the magic square, including which squares were filled in, which weren't, and which ones were apparently used in the password. She had enough time to check my work and confirm that it matched the puzzle before the time ran out. While we waited for the next chance to try the game, I worked on the puzzle, hoping I'd be ready once we had our next chance.

* * *

At 3 PM, I tried the game next. Like Sae said, trying to enter the first four-digit password was an exercise in futility, so I didn't waste any more time than necessary.

Much to my dismay, the puzzle was different. In hindsight, I should have realized that a game full of puzzles wouldn't allow us to work on them outside the game to expedite our progress during our limited time, but Sae's suggestion had been worth a shot.

"So, Sae," I said, "does this look like the puzzle you faced?"

I handed Sae the headset, and she, looking at the puzzle, shook her head.

"Not at all, Kaori," Sae said. "I'm positive you transcribed what I told you perfectly, and that I remembered it correctly. It seems the puzzle- as well as the password- are randomly generated."

"That could be a problem," I said as Sae handed me back the headset. "It seems as though there won't be any shortcuts from here on out. The only hope we have of making it to the end is to get through each challenge as efficiently as possible."

Luckily, the puzzle wasn't too hard, and I had some idea of what to expect, so while I spent some time working out the solution, I didn't waste any with incorrect guesses.

Putting in the password was another matter, since the order for the numbers was apparently random, In the end, only had just enough time to realize that the password I gained was the right one.

"So I've found the final password," I said. "Too bad it seems to change from game to game."

"Indeed," Sae said. "Still, we've made it this far, so perhaps we'll do better next time."

That was a bit of an encouraging sign, if only barely. In the killing game, we had little sense of progress apart from the gradually increasing death toll, so at least we had something to work towards now. Eventually, we'd achieve our goal through our individual and combined efforts, and unlock the secrets of this school... together.

* * *

Shortly after Sae and I split up, I ran into Sugiura-san on the third floor.

"Oh, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "Did you or Edogawa have any luck with the game?"

I shrugged.

"I think we're making some progress," I said, "but for better or worse, it's likely that none of us will finish today."

Sugiura-san shrugged and said "I see," unwilling to let on whether she saw this as a good or bad thing.

"I have a question for you, Sugiura-san," I said. "What are your thoughts on playing the game?"

"It's worth a shot," Sugiura-san said. "The fact that I can't play it, even if I had a working memory card, doesn't change that I'd like to finish it."

"I think most of us feel the same way," I said, "with the obvious exception of Katsura-san and _maybe_ Fukuda-kun. If other people agreed, they'd probably have spoken up at breakfast."

I still had unanswered questions from this morning. As Sae and I had discussed, Katsura-san was reluctant to back up her argument with facts, and gave up surprisingly easily. Likewise, while Fukuda-kun seemed to agree, or at least sympathize, he hadn't argued very strongly in favor of her point. Clearly, Katsura-san cared enough to speak up, but why didn't she care enough to stick to her guns, or was this even a question of caring? I didn't know, and neither did Sugiura-san, so she changed the subject.

"I'm curious about something," Sugiura-san said, "namely, why Talent High School and Hope's Peak choose the Ultimate talents that they do. Obviously, talents for famous authors, athletes, musicians or others will be fairly desirable, but I'm not sure why people like them are interested in a waitress, people who play board games, or a Clairvoyant who's right less than half the time."

"Ostensibly, it's to find the roots of our talents," I said. "If we can achieve in our youth what many adults don't achieve in their entire careers, I suppose people would want to find out how we managed that, and maybe replicate it."

"That's true," Sugiura-san said. "Of course, when they say that Hope's Peak guarantees success in life, I have to wonder if it's the case of the chicken and the egg. Is it because of the school's prestige that anyone who graduates has a leg up on getting into a good school or a good company, or are the alumni successful because they're so talented?"

"The latter may be most likely," I said, "even if a lot of hiring managers and admissions officers make up their minds when they see the name of your alma mater. Anyway, why are you so curious?"

"I wanted to get a better understanding of why we're here," Sugiura-san said, "particularly whether the school exists for our benefit, or we were chosen to benefit the school."

I paused. Ordinarily, I would say "a little bit of both," since students pay tuition and get an education, but I knew that there was a difference between a school that sought to educate as many people as well as possible and one that only cared about making money.

"I honestly don't know," I said. "As much as I'd like to think that it's the former, I know people aren't necessarily altruistic."

"That's right," Sugiura-san said, "which is why I don't trust many people, except for those who I know well enough to understand their motives."

"I see," I said. "What about you, Sugiura-san? What do you want?"

"That's simple," Sugiura-san said. "To get out of this school alive, and not have to go to prison for murder. As for everyone else, while I'm not particularly close to the others, I'd rather not see anyone else die, let alone have their deaths on my conscience."

I remembered how we'd learned that Sugiura-san was the Ultimate Poisoner, and wondered if she'd have even let that happen if she were the mastermind. While it was still possible that she was the one behind the killing game, there were still far too many unanswered questions for me to say with any certainty that she was the one responsible for all the death and suffering.

"I think most of us feel the same way, Sugiura-san," I said, "at least those of us who are still left. That's why Monokuma keeps providing 'motives' for murder, to make otherwise decent people do terrible things."

"True," Sugiura-san said. "I might be bitter about what Hoshino, Mitamura and Sakuragi did, but I don't think they deserved to be stuck in a situation like this. I wish I could've gotten to know them as regular students."

I nodded somberly. Perhaps in a normal school, Sakuragi-kun would have been free to pursue his dream of being a great runner, Mitamura-san would be free of the burden of being responsible for other people's lives and Hoshino-kun might have been a bit more bearable. The fact that so many young lives had been snuffed out and reduced to what might have been was nothing short of a tragedy, a tragedy I hoped to end somehow.

* * *

Before dinner, I played checkers with Katsura-san, but every time I tried bringing up breakfast, she kept changing the subject. When I pushed my luck too far, she bluntly told me, "I don't want to talk about it, Miura-san."

Letting off a sigh, I decided to ask about something different.

"I'd like to know something, Katsura-san," I said. "Do you not agree with my decision to finish FDR:VR?"

"That's not necessarily true, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "The people have spoken, and most of us favor completing the game. Judging from what I've heard, most of them honestly believe that this is our best chance at finding the truth, and are not simply going along with the majority. Because of that... it's difficult for me to argue with the decision."

I nodded, although I realized that Katsura-san had avoided answering my question. Of course, since she seemed to still be getting to the point, I decided to let her continue.

"However," Katsura-san said, "while leaders who wield unchecked power can become tyrants, I do believe that there are times when you may need to make the right decision, even if it's not one that most people would agree with. Mitamura-san was willing to do that when she laid down her rules, knowing that not everyone would approve, and I would like to think that some democratically elected leaders are chosen out of the belief that they can make unpopular but principled decisions."

While I'd never thought about why people chose me, it wasn't too hard to imagine. I wasn't especially competent or charismatic, but I got along well with most people, and I hadn't made any spectacularly selfish or irrational decisions, so most people probably saw me as a safe choice.

"What about me?" I said. "Do I not possess that quality?"

"I would say you're cut from a different cloth than Mitamura-san," Katsura-san said. "You're more cautious and less willing to push your desires onto others, which means that you sometimes struggle with the difficult decisions, but are less likely to do something you'll regret."

"True," I said. "I wonder if that's why we haven't found a way out yet."

Katsura-san shook her head.

"I actually think that's the best choice in a situation like this," Katsura-san said. "When mistakes, even those made with good intentions, can cost people their lives, caution is a virtue... and necessary to survive. Of course, if there comes a time when you have to make a difficult decision under pressure, I hope you will be ready for it- I doubt I would be."

Katsura-san seemed somewhat distracted, so I was able to defeat her this time. After I reached the other side of the board, and my pieces outnumbered hers six to three, she more or less gave up. As I walked off to dinner, I left her with a "Hang in there," and advice to keep herself busy, which she gratefully accepted.

The more I talked with Katsura-san and the more I learned about her, the more it became apparent that she was out of place in a situation in which lives were in the balance, or even a corporate job like Dad's, in which she'd have to fire people. Katsura-san had a calm and analytical mind to understand what was at stake in each decision she made, but her heart often struggled with making the best decisions, when said decisions involved suffering. The same went for all of us, which was why I was so determined that everyone could leave without having to murder.

* * *

During dinner, we shared our progress in the game and talked about the most recent puzzles. It was mostly a way of getting everyone up to speed, but it felt a lot more productive than most of our brainstorming sessions.

After dinner, I saw Katsura-san washing dishes with Iwasawa-san. While Katsura-san was still wearing her blouse, she'd traded her trousers for a pair of overalls, and left her suit jacket in her room.

"Ah, hello, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Katsura graciously agreed to help me wash the dishes tonight once again- she helps out from time to time."

"And Iwasawa-san was kind enough to lend me a pair of overalls," Katsura-san said. "As much as I like helping out, I'd rather not get my 'good' clothes wet."

I noticed that Iwasawa-san's overalls were a bit loose on Katsura-san, who'd adjusted the straps so that they were tighter around her shoulders.

"Do you do chores like this often around the home?" I said.

"I have to help out from time to time," Katsura-san said. "Since most of my siblings no longer live at home, and Mother and Father want to teach me to be self-sufficient, I was first asked to help out in elementary school, and had to do so more often as I got older."

"What about your club?" Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura once told me that senior members often ask the junior ones to do chores."

Katsura-san shook my head.

"My club doesn't work that way," Katsura-san said. "Members are ranked by merit, not seniority, and _everyone_ is expected to help out, so that people don't think chores are beneath them. It might not be your job to clean the building where you work, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep a neat office."

"Sounds reasonable," Iwasawa-san said. "You seem like you could potentially be the right sort of person to work on a farm, Miss Katsura- after all, you look the part."

Katsura-san laughed, a sound I hadn't heard from her in a while, and I followed suit. I could barely imagine Katsura-san wearing overalls and working in the fields, just like I could barely imagine Iwasawa-san wearing a suit and working in an office, but perhaps people could change and overcome their own limitations.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _I don't get why people pay so much for works of fiction._

 _For just a fraction of the price you pay for a video game, a movie or a music CD, you can buy a bunch of blank CDs or DVDs and put anything you want on them._

 _Paper's pretty cheap, too, or at least a lot cheaper than the latest bestsellers or magazines._

 _Instead of waiting for the next video game about 16 uber-talented wunderkinds trapped in a killing game, why not write your own fic about it?_

* * *

 _Day 20_

At breakfast, I took another headcount, and was relieved that for now, everyone was still alive. Based on my calculations, murders tended to occur within a few days of a new motive, so I was all too aware that time was running short. I hadn't made any conclusive progress on identifying the mastermind, but if we found the secret hidden within FDR:VR, perhaps I could call that a victory.

Of course, I wasn't sure what to think anymore, so I decided to help Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san with the dishes this morning, as a way of making myself useful and getting my mind off the problem at the moment.

* * *

At around 8:30 AM, I headed to the computer lab and saw that Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun had beaten me there.

"Perfect timing, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said before I could even get a 'Hello' off. "There's something I'd like to show you."

Inoue-kun handed me the VR headset, and I saw that the timer was counting down, with only about 15 minutes left. There was only one explanation, and I wasn't sure it was one that I'd like.

"So someone played it before we got up this morning," I said. "The only question is who."

"Obviously someone who doesn't care about the Night Time rule," Tezuka-kun said, "but if you're looking for an answer that narrows it down, I can't help you. All I can say is that Inoue and I didn't do it."

As a demonstration, Tezuka-kun tried putting in his memory card, and got the same result Inoue-kun had.

"I see," I said. "Well, Sae and I also couldn't have done it, because we'd both played yesterday afternoon. Since Sugiura-san has a broken memory card, that's five suspects down."

"So if we rule those people out, then the only ones left are those who refused to play," Inoue-kun said.

"Exactly," I said. "It's possible that one of them is lying about it, but who?"

"Beats me," Tezuka-kun said. "I think even Mitamura knew the rule against going out during Night Time was purely based on the honor system, so that won't help us much. All we can do is hope that whoever played this game at night isn't up to something fishy."

Back when Mitamura-san had first conceived the rules, most of us still believed we could prevent the murders altogether. In hindsight, it was a naïve hope, but it was preferable to the harsh reality that some of us were willing to kill in order to escape this school, and that Monokuma would be able to push otherwise unwilling individuals to murder. Monokuma had hatched another plan to cause the next murder, and I could only hope we weren't playing right into it.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Inoue-kun got up to the magic square this time, but since it was a more difficult one than before, he ended up making a mistake and using up too much time, so the timer ran down during what might have been a successful attempt at the puzzle. Once Inoue-kun's attempt ended and the two-hour timer began, he left to investigate the rest of the floor, while Tezuka-kun stayed behind to talk with me.

"Do you need something, Tezuka-kun?" I said.

"I'd just like to talk for a bit," Tezuka-kun said. "Just wondering, but what do you suppose the information Monokuma's offering actually is?"

"I'm not sure," I said, "but I hope it's something that answers some of our unanswered questions."

"Well, that's the thing about information," Tezuka-kun said. "You don't know how valuable it is until after you've opened it up. If it was, say, a briefcase full of money, you could count how much was in it. If iit was a rare work of art, you could call an appraiser and get an estimate of how much it's worth if you're one of those bastards who only care about value."

I chuckled at Tezuka-kun's analogy.

"True," I said. "That said, information- why we're here, how we can get out, who the mastermind is, that sort of thing- is what we need most at this point."

"I know," Tezuka-kun said. "That's why I didn't take Katsura's side yesterday morning. This entire game seems fishy, but it's also our only clue at the moment."

"You're talking about FDR:VR, right?" I said. "Or do you mean the killing game?"

"Both, really," Tezuka-kun said. "Inoue told me a little about video games, and I think this 'killing game' would make a really shitty video game. You've got only one life, your 'reward' for solving the murders is to watch someone die, and you can't do anything to the son of a bitch responsible for it all."

I nodded, but as I did, Tezuka-kun's comment got me thinking about games. Games were most fun when played according to the rules, in which you overcame the challenges before you and earned your successes, but there was nothing fun or rewarding about the killing game. I'd never consider using a cheat code in a video game, but there was little I wouldn't give for some button combination that would unlock the front door and let us all out.

"I mostly agree with you," I said, "but I think the 'game' moniker fits in a sense. The choice of whether to play the game, in a sense, is up to us, but Monokuma can make the rules, and set them so that we have incentives to play, hence the motives. Because of that, it's harder to find a way to 'break' the game without winning it, if you know what I mean."

I wondered if we could simply all refuse to vote at the next trial, resulting in our executions and ending the killing game in a complete and utter anticlimax, but realized that wouldn't work. Life was too precious to waste on such a futile act of protest, and too many of us had lost our lives already.

"Totally," Tezuka-kun said. "I'd say we should take our balls and go home, but we're all here because we _can't_ go home."

I parted ways with Tezuka-kun for now, with a lot on my mind. In theory, we could live within this school for the rest of our lives, since we had everything we needed, but as long as we did, Monokuma had power over our lives and the means to get us to kill each other. One way or another, this killing game had to end, even if the answer was beyond our reach for now.

* * *

At around 6 PM, Sae started playing for the third time. She proceeded through the puzzles with ease, only making a single mistake along the way, and by my calculations, she had at least ten minutes left going into the final challenge.

Less than a minute later, though, Sae's game came to a sudden end.

"I-I lost?" Sae said.

"What happened?" I said. "If you made a mistake, you should have enough time left, shouldn't you?"

"It's the final challenge," Sae said, "a so-called 'Life-Threatening Game' that comes down to pure luck. If you fail, you lose all your time."

So this was the last and most difficult obstacle standing between us and the goal. We could overcome the previous puzzles by dint of intuition, thinking about them or simply throwing at them until we found a solution, but there was no way to increase your odds in a game of pure chance. Maybe that was why Hope's Peak gave invitations to lucky students every year, and why Talent High School took an interest in me, a girl who won a mahjong tournament through sheer luck.

"So even if we get this far, it's purely up to chance whether we make it through?" I said. "What sort of game are we talking about?"

"Russian Roulette," Sae said. "You've heard about it, haven't you?"

I nodded. I'd heard of Russian Roulette before, and knew that if that was all you lost while playing it, you were downright lucky.

"So it's what? A one out of six chance of defeat?" I said. "That's fairly generous."

"Actually, it's the opposite," Sae said. "In this version of Russian Roulette, there are bullets in _five_ of the chambers, you only have a one out of six chance of _survival_."

My jaw dropped. Since my life had been on the line in the last three class trials, I couldn't fathom what could possibly justify risking a chance of killing yourself, much less _almost certain_ death.

"Those... are not good odds," I said, "but I suppose all we can do is get up to the end until we actually win, right?"

"It seems so," Sae said. "It should only be a matter of time until we complete it now that we can get this far on a regular basis. Perhaps you might do it."

I nodded. The game was almost beaten, and soon, we would be able to access that coveted information. I still questioned whether this victory would be a pleasant one, but for now, I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it, and focus on the task at hand.

* * *

At dinner, Sae and I informed the others of our progress, and of the last challenge ahead of us. While most of the others seemed cautiously optimistic, that was tempered by the fact that the game wasn't over yet.

"So the last puzzle's based purely on luck?" Inoue-kun said. "Monokuma certainly isn't making this easy for us."

"He never does," I said. "To be honest, even assuming that the Life-Threatening Game is the last obstacle standing between us and the prize, I can't help but wonder- and worry- about what Monokuma has in store for us."

"You mean that Monokuma might have planted information full of lies?" Kagami-kun said. "I think most of us here, especially you, have the critical thinking skills necessary to discern whether it's true or false."

"Maybe you're right," I said, "but what if it's a truth that shouldn't be brought to light? This seems to be our best choice at the moment, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good one."

"I know how you feel, Miura-san," Katsura-san said. "Ever since we got here, we've been forced to make one bad choice as another, for the sake of avoiding even worse outcomes. I have many regrets about how things turned out, but I can't say for certain whether any of the decisions I made were wrong."

I nodded.

"Because of that I will say this," Katsura-san said. "I disagreed with you when it came to continuing to play FDR:VR, but I realize that for you, it's a question of doing what you must regardless of your doubts."

"Thank you, Katsura-san," I said. "All I can do at this point is press on, hoping it's the right choice."

"That's the only thing you can do," Katsura-san said. "All of us are here now because we sacrificed Sakuragi-kun, Mitamura-san and Hoshino-kun. We can't bring them back, so the only way to ensure that their deaths had some meaning is to make the most of our time and make the best choices we can."

The others silently concurred, and I was certain that we were once again on the same page. We'd all had to make difficult decisions ever since the killing game started, and live with the consequences of the choices we'd made, so any hope of ending the game once and for all was worth pursuing.

* * *

At around 8:30 PM, I started playing for the third time, with Sae watching over me. Since I'd gotten some practice at this, I was able to clear all the challenges without too much difficulty, and got to the end with plenty of time left.

Eventually, I stood before the final challenge. A pedestal came out of the floor, with a revolver on it, just like Sae had described. There was a letter attached.

 _Congratulations! You have earned the right to play the Life-Threatening Game._

 _Just give the trigger a pull. There's five bullets in the cylinder, and only an empty chamber will lead you to the answers you seek._

 _Have fun!_

I briefly checked my timer. I had about 10 minutes left, which I believed would be enough if I didn't waste my time, so I picked up the revolver with my avatar's hand.

"It looks like I'm almost at the end," I said, "but it's down to pure luck- there's a 5/6 chance our game could end. Still, if we've found the solutions to the other puzzles, it should only be a matter of time."

To my surprise, Sae wasn't the one who responded to me.

"I see," Katsura-san said. "Please accept my congratulations... and forgive me for what I'm about to do."

"RUN, KAORI!" Sae yelled at the top of her lungs.

I quickly ripped off the headset, just in time to see Katsura-san standing in front of me, holding a steak knife.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the follows.

Like most of the motive chapters, this one is longer than average, in part because this is the most elaborate motive thus far.

It's a somewhat unfortunate fact that in the Danganronpa series, any attempt to prevent murder is generally futile, so those who try and fail often come off as somewhat incompetent in the process. Of course, it's fairly easy to judge a bunch of frightened teenagers with few options from our relatively comfortable vantage point.

Next chapter, someone will die, but who? Stay tuned...

Here's an omake on what, if any, video games the dead students have played.

* * *

 **Omake**

I decided to poll some of my classmates on whether they'd ever played video games.

Kurogane-kun asked me if an online Shogi program counted. When I had to think about it, he said "I'll take that as a no."

Mitamura-san shook her head, and said she had no time for anything as frivolous as video gaming.

Yuuki-san was a fan of sports games, especially football, since she'd one hoped to take the field, rather than cheer from the sidelines. She also liked playing dancing games.

Mizuhara-kun had once played a fishing game at a friend's house, complete with a rod controller, but found it somewhat unrealistic.

Sakuragi-kun wasn't much of a fan of gaming, since it involved sitting still for long periods of time. He'd once played an RPG, but found it too complicated for his liking.

Hoshino-kun tersely told me that no, he hadn't played any games, and seemed a bit annoyed by the question.

Akasaka-san sometimes liked playing party games with her younger siblings, although considering that there were six of them, someone would probably have to sit out.


	19. Chapter IV, Part 4

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Even considering the ever-present temptation of graduation, and Katsura-san's previous opposition to completing the game, would she really commit murder to stop me from finishing it?

In the moment it took for me to process the sight before me, Sae had jumped between Katsura-san and I, and grabbed Katsura-san's wrists. As Sae did, she squeezed as tightly as she could, in hopes of getting Katsura-san to drop the knife or failing that, keep her there as long as possible.

Unfortunately for Sae, neither was a viable option. Katsura-san pushed hard, and shoved Sae to the side. Sae had only bought me a few seconds, enough for me to knock the chair over and get a few steps away. As things stood, I could potentially get away and get help... but only if Katsura-san stayed behind and killed Sae. As Katsura-san stood over Sae, knife in hand, I did the only thing that came to mind.

"Please wait, Katsura-san!" I said. "I'm the one you want dead, aren't I?"

Katsura-san suddenly froze in her tracks. She was the one with the deadly weapon, and the intent to kill, but the fear was in _her_ eyes. No one here wanted to die, but anyone who committed murder was willing put their own life at stake in an attempt to graduate. So what was Katsura-san afraid of?

Katsura-san quickly ran off into the hall and around the corner. If I'd pursued her, I could likely have cornered her before long, but seeing as how she was still armed, it would have been unwise to do so alone. Furthermore, there was Sae, who was sitting on the floor, still frightened from what she'd just witnessed- I couldn't leave her alone after that.

Seeing Sae like this was something I never could have imagined when I'd first met her. She'd always struck me as one of the most stable members of our group, perhaps more so than even Mitamura-san had been, as a levelheaded person who was quite intelligent and talented at the investigations. All that was true, but she'd never been without her flaws, and perhaps her show of confidence had been out of a desire to never let anyone see her vulnerable... until now.

"Are you all right, Sae?" I said, as I helped her up.

"I-I should be asking _you_ that, Kaori," Sae said. "Katsura-san just tried to _kill_ _you_."

"I've... been better," I said, "but if I hadn't kept at least some of my wits about me, at least one of us would be dead."

During the course of the killing game, I'd been in danger of being executed at each of the three class trials, and in danger of being killed at any moment, a fact that only truly became apparent when I thought about it. Those of us who had made it this far had several coping mechanisms, not the least of which was _not_ thinking about the constant threats to our lives inside this school.

Of course, something had seemed off about Katsura-san's actions. Even though it would have made more sense to attack Sae while I was distracted, then turn her attention to me once Sae was dealt with, Katsura-san had chosen me first, and even announced her intentions. Other things didn't make sense- she carried the murder weapon she'd gotten from Monokuma, didn't have anything to shield herself from blood splatter, and had no apparent plan to hide her guilt. Why was she so desperate to prevent us from killing the game that she had almost killed me and condemned herself to a painful death, and why couldn't she actually do it?

"For now, could you please take off your blazer?" I said. "I just want to make absolutely sure that Katsura-san didn't stab you anywhere."

Sae complied, and I followed suit. Both of our dress shirts were perfectly clean, confirming that neither of us had been cut during the struggle. Sae probably had a few bruises on her back where she fell, but at least she wasn't badly hurt.

A moment later, Fukuda-kun arrived. He might not have heard the commotion, but he was clearly aware that something was wrong, as his expression was clearly concerned the moment he burst into the room, barely a minute after Katsura-san's departure.

"What's going on?" Fukuda-kun said.

"Katsura-san tried to stab me, and Sae protected me," I said, "so Katsura-san fled. She's probably trying to stop us from finishing the game, so we've got to find her before she attacks anyone else."

"I'll take a look for her," Fukuda-kun said. "Don't worry; I can handle myself."

I nodded. While I didn't necessarily believe that boys were obligated or better suited to protect girls, especially since the killing game required all of us to be somewhat self-sufficient, I was grateful for Fukuda-kun's help. As a rock climber in excellent physical condition, Fukuda-kun was well-suited to subduing Katsura-san, second only to Iwasawa-san.

"Please be careful," I said. "If you find her, disarm her and calm her down, but don't hurt her if at all possible."

"Gotcha," Fukuda-kun said. "And if I can't find her?"

"Then meet me in the dining hall by the Night Time announcement," I said. "I'm going with Sae to see if Katsura-san escaped to a lower floor, and also get help. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I'll handle the fourth floor," Fukuda-kun said, "and if I run into any of the others, I'll pass on the word."

"Please do," I said. "Sae and I will be back soon, so stay safe."

After I took a moment to retrieve my memory card- I'd somehow lost the rest of my time, possibly by accidentally firing the gun- Sae, Fukuda-kun and I left the room before splitting up as the search for Katsura-san commenced.

* * *

Sae and I immediately headed down to the third floor at a brisk walk. As important as it was to find the rest of the students quickly, we needed enough stamina to run away if Katsura-san returned for a second attempt on our lives.

Despite keeping our eyes open and looking inside every room we came across on the third floor, we didn't see Katsura-san- or anyone else- on it. One unfortunate part about our present situation was with our cell phones gone and without access to the PA system, Monokuma was the only one able to contact everyone in the school very quickly. Because of this, if Katsura-san was planning to target someone else, they likely would not have any warning of her intentions until she drew her knife on them.

On our way down from the third floor to the second, Sae and I saw Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun, who were heading up, probably unaware of what had happened.

"Oh, good timing," I said. "You haven't seen Katsura-san, have you?"

"Nope," Tezuka-kun said, his casual tone indicating that he was still oblivious.

"Not at all," Inoue-kun said. "Why do you ask?"

"Katsura-san tried to stab me, but couldn't bring herself to do it, and ran off," I said. "Could you please wait here until the Night Time announcement and intercept her if she comes downstairs? I want to make sure she doesn't kill anyone else."

Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun turned pale for a moment, then looked at each other and nodded. The news was fairly disturbing, but because of this, they understood the urgency of our situation, and that discussion would have to wait until later.

"Got it," Tezuka-kun said, "but what if she's already downstairs?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," I said, "but odds are that she hasn't left the fourth floor yet. Fukuda-kun's handling things upstairs, so make sure she doesn't get past here- Sae and I will go see if she's on the lower floors. Please pass on this message to anyone else you see."

"I understand," Inoue-kun said. "Good luck, Miura-san, Edogawa-san."

Sae and I thanked the boys, before heading downstairs in search of the others.

* * *

We made our way to the dining hall, and saw the three remaining students there. Sugiura-san and Kagami-kun were washing dishes, while Iwasawa-san was taking out the trash. While we hadn't found Katsura-san yet, at the very least, none of the others come to harm. While it was important to meet up with Fukuda-kun and the others as soon as possible, now that everyone knew that Katsura-san was somewhere in the school, armed with a knife, we could stop for a moment to think things through.

"Ah, it's good to see you three here," I said. "Have any of you seen Katsura-san?"

"Not since dinner," Sugiura-san said, and the other two shook their heads to concur. "What's this about?"

Seeing that the three in the kitchen were as oblivious as Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun had been, I then explained what happened. Since things at least seemed to be relatively calm, I was able to give a full account of everything that had happened since I first set foot in the computer lab.

"Anyway, we searched the rest of the school and can't find her," I said. "It's possible she's still on the fourth floor, in which case Fukuda-kun should be able to find her, but it's also possible she slipped away and is somewhere in the dorms."

"Well, if she's after you, I think this is the safest place in the school for you," Kagami-kun said.

"Because people are watching?" Sugiura-san said. "Katsura didn't hesitate to try to stab Miura in front of a witness, unless she was planning on killing Edogawa, too. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time someone gets murdered in the dining hall."

"If she'd wanted both of us dead, she probably would have gone after Sae first," I said. "Since I was distracted by the game, I wouldn't have noticed until it was too late, at which point Katsura-san could have stabbed me once Sae was fatally wounded."

Sae winced. It was obvious she was taking our shared brush with death somewhat harder than I was, so it was unfortunate that I had to remind her of it.

"That's possible," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, if her goal was to stop us from completing the game, then she's succeeded for now. That said, until someone commits murder, Katsura-san has merely bought herself time."

Technically, Katsura-san had an additional option available to her- destroying the console. The fact that she didn't probably meant that she still valued her life, or didn't think that would solve her problems.

"For now, we've got to find Katsura-san, calm her down and find out what's going on," I said, "so that no one will get killed over this game. Let's head back to where Katsura-san was last seen- the fourth floor."

"I understand," Sae said. "If we have time, though, would it be possible for Iwasawa-san to get the handcuffs from her room? I could use those to restrain Katsura-san."

I suddenly remembered the murder weapons we'd received shortly after we'd gotten here. Apart from Mitamura-san using her screwdriver to do some maintenance on Iwasawa-san's notepad, none of us had any use for them.

"You have a good memory, Miss Edogawa," Iwasawa-san said. "Come with me; I'll go get them right now."

"Go right ahead," I said. "Just be careful."

Sae and Iwasawa-san left for Iwasawa-san's room, since I didn't want anyone walking around alone right now. After they left, I turned to Sugiura-san.

"Just wondering, Sugiura-san, but are any knives missing from the kitchen?" I said.

"Apart from the one Hoshino used to kill Yuuki?" Sugiura-san said. "No, none. I have no idea where Katsura got the knife."

"I see," I said. "If it isn't from the kitchen, I might know where she got it, but that wouldn't make any sense."

A couple minutes later, the two came back, with Sae holding the handcuffs.

"Sorry we're late," Sae said. "Iwasawa-san was able to retrieve her handcuffs without any difficulty, but we noticed that Katsura-san's door was unlocked and open, so we looked inside."

"That's unusual," I said. "What did you find in there?"

"Not Miss Katsura, if that's what you're asking," Iwasawa-san said. "She wasn't in her room, and the bathroom was unlocked, so she couldn't possibly be hiding there. We did find the box her murder weapon came in, and saw that it was open. There was also a pad of paper and a pen on her desk, with at least one sheet ripped off."

I thought about having Sae do the pencil rubbing trick to see what Katsura-san might have written on her last sheet of paper, but there were more pressing things right now.

"So, it's true, then," I said. "Katsura-san was using the knife she got as her murder weapon."

"That's what I thought, too," Sae said, "but using her own personal murder weapon would have only served to draw suspicion to herself. She wouldn't possibly have gotten away with killing you."

"Maybe she didn't want to," I said. "I don't know all the details, though, so let's go find her."

The other four agreed, and we set off for the school, but I had to admit that I was at a bit of a loss for what to do. Ordinarily, we'd hand Katsura-san over to the police, and she'd be sent to juvenile hall, but the only laws in this school were Monokuma's rules, and death was the only punishment for breaking them. While he was quite willing to execute murderers, he had no provisions for what to do with an attempted murderer, presumably hoping that we'd settle the matter with a vigilante execution.

Perhaps it was too much to hope that we were too good to stoop to that level of barbarism, but I simply wanted to resolve this like civilized people. I hoped I could hear Katsura-san's side of the story and come to some solution for the problem that had driven her to kill, since she clearly had not reached this decision lightly. I could not easily forget the fact that she'd tried to kill me, but perhaps with enough time, I could forgive her. Whatever happened, I hoped that the confrontation in the computer lab would not be the last time I saw Katsura-san alive.

* * *

We set out for the fourth floor as a single group, but while we kept an eye out for Katsura-san, we prioritized finding the boys. It would be easier to find them than to find her, and while the latter was the ultimate goal, getting everyone on the same page was a more pressing priority.

Eventually, we reached Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun, who were still keeping watch on the stairs of the third floor. The former was mainly looking upstairs, while the latter looked downstairs, but both saw us coming almost immediately.

"There you are," I said. "Did you see Katsura-san or anyone else?"

"Nope," Tezuka-kun said. "I was kind of getting tired of standing here, but Inoue said we should wait for you guys."

"I'm glad you did," I said. "Let's go find Fukuda-kun."

After searching the third floor, we started climbing the stairs to the fourth. While on the stairs, I noticed a small slip of paper.

"Hold it," I said. "I think someone dropped something."

I bent down and picked it up, and saw that it was a very familiar-looking business card.

"This is Katsura-san's business card," I said. "Did any of you get one from her?"

"I think we all did," Sae said. "Katsura-san said she makes a point of handing one out to every potential contact she meets. Since we, as students of Talent High School, are likely to go far in the future, it's only natural that she'd want to connect with us."

"I don't know about you, but I put mine in my room," I said, "since I didn't want the card to end up going through the wash. If no one here carries theirs around all the time, this must have come from Katsura-san herself."

"That's right," Iwasawa-san said. "She even gave me a brief lesson on how to give and receive business cards."

It was possible that Katsura-san had passed through this area before, but if we didn't find her on the third floor and Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun hadn't seen her, either, then I had to wonder where she'd gone. For now, the fourth floor was the most likely spot, so I decided to return there.

We found Fukuda-kun outside the door with the strange lock, looking around. I let off a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't come to any harm while we had been away.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Fukuda-kun," I said. "Did you find Katsura-san?"

Fukuda-kun, who hadn't noticed us until I spoke, shook his head.

"No," Fukuda-kun said. "I'm guessing you didn't, either."

The seven of us either shook our heads or stared blankly. Judging from his expression, Fukuda-kun wasn't surprised at all.

"Unfortunately, you're right," I said. "There's a lot of places she might hide, and not that many of us searching, so we'll be hard-pressed to find her."

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said. "I hate to say this, but I don't think we're gonna find her tonight."

I looked at my watch and saw that there was a little over half an hour left until Night Time. Fukuda-kun wasn't wrong, but it was a bit too early to give up.

"I think we should keep looking until Night Time, just in case," I said. "It's likely that Katsura-san doesn't want to be found, but if she's had time to cool her head, then perhaps we should find her and see if we can reason with her. Let's split into pairs and meet up at the dining hall by 10 PM"

We then divided into pairs- Sae and I, Fukuda-kun and Sugiura-san, Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun, and Iwasawa-san and Kagami-kun- and searched the school for about half an hour. Unfortunately, Sae and I had no more luck than we'd had on either leg of our trip to and from the dining hall, and I had no reason to believe the others had no luck. Eventually, around 9:50, we officially gave up, and headed to the dining hall to wait for everyone else.

* * *

At 10 PM, the Night Time announcement played, as it had every night, and signaled the arrival of the deadline that I'd set for our search. Sae and I were the first to reach the dining hall, and over the next few minutes, the other groups arrived.

"So nobody found Katsura-san?" I said.

My question was met with silence, and the occasional head shake- Fukuda-kun was too magnanimous to say "I told you so." The answer was what I'd expected, but I was honestly a bit relieved. If someone had found her, but came back without her, she was most likely dead and we'd have to find her body to begin the investigation. It was possible that _had_ happened, but for now, it was just that- a possibility.

"If Katsura doesn't want to be found, I don't think searching for her tonight will do any good," Fukuda-kun said. "Why don't we meet up here at 7 tomorrow and search for her after breakfast?"

"Assuming she doesn't knife someone on our way over, or once we're there," Sugiura-san said. "It wouldn't be the first murder committed in the dining hall."

"We'll just have to be careful, then," Inoue-kun said. "Personally, though, I think the walk over to the dining hall would be less dangerous than searching for Katsura-san all night and not getting any rest."

Inoue-kun stifled a yawn.

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "Personally, I almost nodded off while we were waiting for Miura and the others."

"But wouldn't Miss Katsura be just as tired?" Iwasawa-san said.

"Maybe," Tezuka-kun said. "Still, she's got a knife and we don't, so I'd rather not take my chances."

No matter how we put it, if Katsura-san had a weapon and the intent to kill, she was at an advantage. Our goal was to talk sense into her, or failing that, restrain her without harming her, but Katsura-san could simply shove her knife into a vital spot or slice open an artery, and her victim would likely perish.

"I agree," I said. "We should go to bed for tonight and continue the search once we're rested. If Katsura-san cools off, she'll likely be more willing to talk things out, but if not, we'll be in optimal shape to search for- and if necessary, restrain- her."

The others nodded, and we headed to our rooms as one group, each of us opening our doors and going in where the others could see us. Before Iwasawa-san headed back to hers, Sae stopped her, before fishing around in her skirt pocket.

"Before I forget, Iwasawa-san, here's your handcuffs," Sae said. "They were originally yours, so you should hang on to them in case something happens."

Sae handed the handcuffs and the keys back to Iwasawa-san.

"Thank you, Miss Edogawa," Iwasawa-san said. "Please feel free to ask me if you need them again."

Iwasawa-san bowed to Sae, but before either of them left, Sae then turned to me.

"This... might sound selfish, Kaori," Sae said, "but I'd like to stay over tonight. I don't think I'll be able to go to sleep unless I know you're safe."

I could sense a bit of planning and forethought behind Sae's decision to make this request while Iwasawa-san was in earshot. Iwasawa-san could thus confirm that we had an alibi if anything happened during the night, and with someone who knew that Sae had been in my room, she'd been digging her own grave if she killed me. That aside, though, the request was entirely sincere- out of a desire to keep me close and make sure I was alright. I'd long been content with the idea that Sae saw me as just another fan, but now, I was grateful that she seemed to enjoy my company as much as I did hers.

"Feel free to stay with me, Sae," I said. "I'd be happy to have you as a guest in my room."

"Thank you," Sae said. "Good night, Iwasawa-san; I hope to see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Miss Edogawa, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "I'll be praying for your safety."

Iwasawa-san retired to her room as Sae and I entered mine. The threat of death was a constant in the killing game, but I'd never been so worried about losing someone during the night, so I considered emulating Iwasawa-san and praying for my friends' safety.

* * *

Sae and I entered my room together, and too late, I realized I still had the poster of the scantily clad idol singer up.

"Ah, I see you kept the poster you got," Sae said.

"I... I did," I said. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I promise I won't," Sae said. "The only reason I haven't put up one like it is that I haven't had the chance to acquire a poster like it."

I chuckled and thanked Sae. My mood didn't improve much, but it was comforting to know that not only did Sae not judge me, but we had a little in common.

Since it was already late, the two of us only took off our blazers, shoes and neckties before getting into bed.

"I'm sorry I don't have any pajamas or a nightgown," I said. "Of course, no one does."

"That's fine," Sae said. "I'm perfectly able to fall asleep in this uniform, which happened a few times in class after I spent a bit too long writing. Luckily, I broke that habit around the time the teachers threatened to tell my father if I kept nodding off while they were trying to teach me."

I giggled softly. From what I'd heard, Sae was the second best student after Mitamura-san (although the latter's cheating forced me to question her reputation), but Mitamura-san would not have ever let herself fall asleep in class. Clearly, this didn't impact Sae's grades too much, but it was a flaw that made her less perfect but more endearing.

"Anyway, should I sleep on the floor since I'm a guest?" Sae said.

"Of course not," I said, "although I get the feeling you wouldn't want me to sleep on the floor, either."

"Not at all, Sae said. "It's a good thing that this bed fits two, isn't it?"

"It is," I said, as we climbed in. "Good night, Sae."

"Good night, Kaori," Sae said.

We slept together, in the same bed, although it took almost an hour to fall asleep. In better times, my chief concern would have been what people might have thought about this, but even now, I had to admit that I couldn't help but spare a thought for it.

If Sae or I had been male, we never would have lived this down- a couple of the others would have spread rumors, and the somewhat prudish Mitamura-san would have likely had some choice words for us. Fortunately, no one thought much of two girls spending the night together, and the only person who knew this was the friendly and open-minded Iwasawa-san. I was grateful for that, even if a part of me wished I could sleep with and wake up next to Sae every day.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Let's face it._

 _We celebrate the accomplishments of our smart people, but where would we be without the stupid ones?_

 _For every genius doctor who cures a disease, there's millions of morons wh-_

* * *

Suddenly, I felt a stirring in the night, around 11:45 PM, and saw Sae in a cold sweat. She'd thrashed about a bit in her sleep, which must have been what had woken me up.

"Are you all right, Sae?" I said.

"I will be," Sae said. "It's just a nightmare- Katsura-san killed you, and we had to execute her. I did what I had to and voted for her but... I don't know what I'd do without you."

I wanted to reassure Sae that everything was all right, but that wasn't the case- the killing game was a nightmare you couldn't wake up from. We weren't just tormented by how many people had already died, but the fact that at any moment, more of us would follow.

"I'm still here," I said, looking Sae straight in the eye. "That's why you wanted to sleep over, isn't it? So that you'd see me there when we woke up?"

Sae nodded.

"That's right," Sae said, "and because you're perhaps the only person left I trust enough to talk with about my fears and weaknesses. If you'd died back then..."

Sae trailed off, perhaps not knowing how she'd finish the sentence or not wanting to. I simply laid a hand on Sae's shoulder.

"Rather than worry about what might have happened, there's something I'd like you to understand," I said. "I can't promise that I'll survive this, or you won't have to find my killer at any point, but I can promise you this- as long as I'm alive, I'll be here for you."

I held Sae until she calmed down enough to get back to sleep, once again reminded that she was more vulnerable than I'd first imagined. I wondered how many sleepless night she'd had to endure during the killing game, but I hoped she'd rest a little easier now that I was here. There had been a time when I thought she'd be the best person to lead us and solve the murders, or at least better than I was, but now, I wanted to do what I could to protect her and keep her safe.

Before long, Sae was fast asleep, and soon after confirming that she was asleep, I nodded off, too.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater, Continued**

 _Sorry for the interruption._

 _Like I was saying, for every genius doctor who cures a disease, there's millions of morons who gets hurt, lands in the hospital and pay through the nose in medical fees._

 _Think of all the work that goes into fixing the problems people make, and saving them from their own stupidity... as well as the cretins who make that work._

 _If all this seems like too much for you to understand, don't worry. Just keep up the good work!_

* * *

 _Day 21_

I woke up before my alarm, and saw Sae still asleep next to me. Her long dark hair had a severe case of "bed head," and I could see a faint trickle of drool out of the corner of her mouth. It was a fairly cute sight, but we had places to be, so I decided to wake her up.

"It's time to wake up, Sae," I said. "We've got to get ready before going to breakfast."

"Oh," Sae said drowsily. "Coming, Kaori."

Sae got out of bed, then stifled a yawn as she got to her feet.

"I look awful, don't I?" Sae said.

"It's about what I'd expect for the first thing in the morning," I said.

"Thanks," Sae said. "If I'm used to getting up early, it's because it takes me a while to get ready in the morning. My school wasn't all that strict about your hair, as long as you didn't do something extreme like dying your hair or shaving your head- they understood Inoue-kun was a natural blond, after all. That said, I didn't want people to laugh at me."

We then headed to the bathroom, and combed our hair together- since Sae's hair was significantly longer than mine, I helped her brush it after finishing with mine. After tying my necktie in the mirror, I noticed that Sae was still struggling with hers.

"One second, Sae," I said. "Let me help you with your tie."

I then tied Sae's tie for her.

"Thank you, Kaori," Sae said. "You know, my father had to help me with my tie for the first few days I went to my old school. I made a point of learning how to do it, though."

"So that you could do it by yourself?" I said.

"That's part of the reason," Sae said. "I also wanted to show Father that I'd paid attention to what he was teaching me. The best way to show your appreciation for your teachers is to be a good student."

After we put on our blazers, Sae was, at least outwardly, the same student I'd always looked up to, but I knew better than to think of her that anymore. She was a kind young lady, an intelligent person and a talented writer, but she was so much more than that, as I'd also seen her in some of her more vulnerable moments. I still respected her and thought of her as a friend, but also wanted her to trust in me, and to be there for her whenever she needed me.

* * *

A few minutes before 7 AM, Sae and I proceeded to the dining hall. Iwasawa-san arrived just after we did, her handcuffs attached to the hammer loop on the left leg of her overalls. Clearly, she was anticipating that Sae would need her handcuffs when we resumed the search for Katsura-san.

"Good morning, Miss Miura, Miss Edogawa," Iwasawa-san said.

"Good morning, Iwasawa-san," I said. "You're not up as early today."

"I actually got up at the usual time," Iwasawa-san said, "but I didn't want to go to the dining hall alone."

Within a few minutes, the other five students who'd been accounted for as of the Night Time announcement last night filed into the dining hall, and Iwasawa-san served up a quick meal for everyone While none of us were necessarily in the mood to eat, we were hungry enough that.

"So, no one's seen Katsura-san, right?" I said.

"Unfortunately, no," Inoue-kun said. "I went back to my room after we called off the search and came straight to breakfast after waking up."

The others nodded in agreement, with the exception of Iwasawa-san.

"I checked Miss Katsura's room before coming here," Iwasawa-san said, "since under Monokuma's rules, she'd have to sleep there if she sleeps at all. Unfortunately, while the door was still unlocked, I didn't find her there."

"Technically, she could have slept in someone else's room," I said. "There is a bit of a loophole in that rule... isn't there, Sae?"

Sae gave a faint smile and nodded.

"That's true," Iwasawa-san said, "but all the dead students' doors were locked, so unless she somehow got one of their keys, she couldn't have stayed in any of those rooms. You did lock your room, didn't you, Miss Edogawa?"

"I did," Sae said, producing her room key from the pocket of her skirt. "We can only hope that Katsura-san stayed awake all night, lest she run afoul of the rule against sleeping outside of a room."

I was personally more worried about what the other six students might have done during Night Time. Part of the reason we'd banned going out at Night Time was to ensure that no one would wander out and get killed while the others were sleeping, but now we had someone who was wandering the school. Had someone taken advantage of this to kill her?

"For now, let's just find Katsura-san," Kagami-kun said. "If she doesn't want anyone to finish the game, then I think the computer lab would be the best place to look first, since she probably knows we're likely to head there after breakfast."

We finished eating breakfast together, and, at my request, waited for a little while to see if Katsura-san would show up. Iwasawa-san even set a place setting in what would have been Katsura-san's seat, as an invitation to make amends and rejoin the group- one that Katsura-san never accepted.

* * *

We then set out once again, as a unified search party, and proceeded through the school, floor by floor, having two pairs of students watch the stairs while the other two pairs looked for Katsura-san. After thoroughly searching each floor, we moved on to the next one, knowing that since there was only one staircase, it was unlikely that Katsura-san could slip by us.

As time passed and the search was no more fruitful than last night, I couldn't help but worry. There were many explanations for why Katsura-san wasn't showing her face around us, and one was more prominent than the others in this killing game. As much as I didn't want to believe it, I, at the very least, had to accept the worst-case scenario as a possibility.

After not even finding a trace of Katsura-san on the first three floors, we finally reached the fourth floor, and decided to follow Kagami-kun's suggestion. When we opened the door to the computer lab, the worst-case scenario stopped being a possibility... and became a reality.

We found Katsura-san's lifeless body sitting in the chair, still wearing the headset and gloves.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

This chapter was fairly short, since it's a continuation of the previous chapter, in setting up the motive. Since it's tied to the murder, I had to fine-tune it a bit as I made some revisions to the next two parts of the chapter. I'll explain it more when I finish with the class trial.

You'll learn more about why Katsura believed she had to kill Miura and why she couldn't ultimately do so once the trial is over.

For now, the investigation's coming up next.


	20. Chapter IV, Part 5

_Deadly Life_

As we spotted Katsura-san's corpse, Sae quickly took the headset off, but paused as she saw a glazed over and vacant look in Katsura-san's eyes. It was clear Katsura-san was dead, and there was no need for Sae to check for a pulse this time.

After a few moments, the Body Discovery Announcement played.

"A body has been discovered! After a short period of investigation, we will hold a class trial!"

Immediately after the announcement ended, Monokuma appeared in the computer lab.

"Looks like you lot are already here, just like you were in Mizuhara-kun's case," Monokuma said. "Still, rules are rules when it comes to the Body Discovery Announcement, and this means your investigation period's started. Here's the Monokuma File."

After taking the Monokuma File, I checked my watch to make note of when the investigation began- around 8:45- hoping to find out how long we'd have. I hoped we'd never have another murder, but if we did, knowing the length of the investigation period would allow us to budget our time most efficiently.

Of course, the first step was always obvious, so I looked at the information I'd been given.

 _Monokuma File 4_

 _The victim is Komaki Katsura, the Ultimate Saleswoman._

 _The body was found inside the computer lab._

 _The victim has a broken neck and an injury to the back of the head. There are also several bruises on her body._

"So it's telling us what wounds she received but not what killed her or when," I said. "I'm guessing knowing either of those would make things too easy for us."

"Sharp as always, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "But I've got a little juicy tidbit for you about the moive. One of you was supposed to finish the game first, while the other was supposed to make sure _no one_ did."

Something was very odd about this. Usually, Monokuma was forthcoming enough to tell all of us what the motive was, so why had he left all but two (or maybe three, if the mastermind knew) of us out of the loop?

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" I said.

"It's 'cause the two people needed some extra encouragement to do their jobs," Monokuma said, "so I figured having you bastards compete with them to finish the game would give them the little push they needed."

So it was as I'd feared- we'd been playing into Monokuma's hands all this time. Of course, since the two objectives were mutually exclusive, it was a given that at least one of them wouldn't get what they wanted, thus providing an incentive for them to kill each other... or anyone who posed a threat. Under the circumstances, it would only have been a matter of time before someone committed murder.

"Judging from the circumstances, it's entirely possible that Katsura-san was one of those two," Sae said. "That would explain why she not only didn't play, but didn't want anyone to finish the game- anyone else completing it first would have cause problems for her."

"Not telling!" Monokuma said. "One more thing- if any of you want to play FDR:VR, now's your chance. You've got until the class trial to finish it if you want to check out the compartment. Until then!"

Monokuma then vanished once again. Sae's guess was probably accurate, which only left the other person. Considering they hadn't said anything, it was likely that either Monokuma had them under a gag order, they were the killer, or both.

"So... any ideas where to start?" Sugiura-san said.

"Take a look at this," Fukuda-kun said, wearing the headset, before handing it to me.

Since Katsura-san's memory card was still in the console, the 24 hour countdown to start was displayed, but this time, it was down to about fourteen and a half hours. Since it was about 8:45 AM right now, that meant the timer had started at 11:15 PM last night. I briefly suspected Katsura-san had played the game yesterday morning, but that wasn't possible. The two-hour lockout had probably begun at around 6:45 AM yesterday morning, and if Katsura-san's card had been used late last night, the earliest her previous session could have ended was 11:15 PM two nights ago. The more I thought about it, the less I understood why Katsura-san wanted to play despite not wanting us to finish the game.

After making note of the time, I passed the headset around so everyone could see for themselves. The killing game made it almost impossible to merely take people at their word, so I wanted to ensure that everyone saw this potentially vital bit of evidence.

"So Katsura-san apparently played the game before her death," I said, "so she was killed at some point during that session?"

"That sounds about right," Fukuda-kun said, "which is some time after we gave up the search. At that point, apart from you and Edogawa, no one has an alibi."

While I cursed myself for not being able to stop this murder from happening, I knew that staying with Sae had its benefits. Once again, we had an alibi for the murder, and perhaps a key to uncovering the perpetrator's identity.

"So someone snuck out in the night, found Katsura-san and killed her," Inoue-kun said. "But how could they find her so easily when none of us succeeded?"

"I'd guess because she was playing the game," Kagami-kun said, "but since she'd spoken out against finishing it, none of us had any reason to believe she was actually playing. Because of that, I can't guess her reason."

The obvious response would have been to propose that Katsura-san might have tried to finish FDR:VR in secret, but again, none of us could have predicted that. Back then, we'd assumed that finishing the game was a cooperative endeavor, rather than a competition, so we'd assumed that Katsura-san's desire that we not complete it was due to her concern over what might happen, rather than her personal ulterior motive.

"That's what we'll have to find out," I said. "At this point, the only possibility I can think of is that they knew exactly where she would be, which is the only way they could have reached her between when we went to bed and when her session ended."

Even as I said it, the possibility wasn't entirely convincing. Perhaps they might have suspected that she'd be in the computer lab, playing the game, but that would have been highly unlike someone who didn't want us to finish it. Katsura-san might have been motivated by one of Monokuma's secret motives, but none of us knew that at the time.

"I'll guard the crime scene," Iwasawa-san said. "Who else wants to help?"

"I can," Sae said. "I'll do some investigating while I'm waiting there, too."

"Good," I said. "We may not have much time, so we'll have to make the time we do have count."

"We should probably split up," Kagami-kun said. "It's possible that Katsura-san was killed elsewhere, and her body was moved."

The others silently concurred, and went their separate ways to look for anywhere Katsura-san might have been. Meanwhile, I decided to do a more in-depth investigation of the scene.

"Let's take a look at Katsura-san's body," I said, "after getting a photo of her in her current state."

Sae and I gently moved Katsura-san and lay her next to the side wall. After examining her more closely, we noticed that the wound on the back of her head had stopped bleeding, and that there wasn't even a bloodstain on the chair. We then noticed a scrap of paper in the pocket of her trousers, a hastily written note that I read aloud.

 _To whoever discovers this note,_

 _If you are reading this, I am already dead. What follows is my confession._

 _I killed the person playing Final Dead Room: VR Edition. My reasons are my own, although I know that nothing can fully justify or explain this crime._

 _Since the murder must be solved for the spotless to survive, this note is meant to show you the blackened's identity. If I was also killed, I am sorry that this does not contain any information as to my killer's identity, and wish you the best of luck in finding that person._

 _Please tell my family that I love them, and that I am sorry._

 _Please also apologize to the victim's family on my behalf._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Komaki Katsura._

I finished reading the note aloud. Even after Sae and Iwasawa-san read the note themselves, neither of them fully believed what they'd seen.

"That's strange," Iwasawa-san said. "I'd think that Miss Katsura would be the person who played the game, not the murderer... unless she committed suicide?"

"I can't deny the possibility," I said, "but that doesn't explain how the wounds were inflicted. She must have prepared this note in advance of her attempt on my life, in case she died before the class trial. At the very least, it would make her and her victim's deaths easier to figure out than Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san's."

The fact that she wrote "the victim" rather than specifying a name presumably meant that Katsura-san didn't know who she'd have to kill.

"There's something else in here," Sae said, "namely, business cards. It sounds like you were right, and she was the only one still carrying those cards."

Katsura-san had a thin pile of business cards that seemed as though they'd been stuffed back inside her pockets.

"That's odd," I said. "My mom often exchanges business cards with her contacts, and she makes a point of treating the ones she gets and the ones she hands out with respect and care. I doubt the Ultimate Saleswoman would be so careless with hers."

"Of course she wouldn't," Iwasawa-san said. "When Miss Katsura and I first met, she taught me how to give and receive business cards, as well as the importance of doing so properly."

"Yes, that is certainly strange," Sae said. "It's possible that Katsura-san's killer was in a hurry to put them back in, but I don't have any proof for that."

"Neither do I," I said. "If that's true, it would lend credence to Kagami-kun's theory that the killer moved her body. I'll take a quick look around the floor to see if there are blood stains, signs of a struggle or any other evidence anywhere besides here."

I then quickly walked out of the room, knowing I had no time to waste.

* * *

I took a quick look around the fourth floor, which was the most likely spot where Katsura-san had died, but found no signs of a struggle anywhere else. Apparently, Inoue-kun had the same idea, and I saw him in the A/V room.

"Hello, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "Are you also looking for anywhere Katsura-san might have hid before her death?"

"I am," I said. "Apart from Katsura-san's body, the computer lab looks the same as when Sae and I were in there last night. I'm trying to find if there's anywhere Katsura-san might have fought with her killer, but I'm not having any luck."

"Who knows?" Inoue-kun said. "Maybe Katsura-san's killer took her by surprise, like Kurogane-kun and Akasaka-san. Even Yuuki-san, who was stabbed from the front, wasn't able to fight back much."

Inoue-kun apparently deliberately omitted Mizuhara-kun, whose murder was an oddity in several ways. Right now, while it seemed somewhat more likely that Katsura-san had been the victim of a surprise attack, there wasn't enough proof either way.

"You could be right, Inoue-kun," I said, "but at least in those cases, the victims didn't get very far. Even if their killers had moved the bodies, they would have left blood behind... assuming the killer didn't clean that up. If the murder was during Night Time, they had plenty of time for that."

"True," Inoue-kun said. "There's probably a clue out there somewhere, but in the end, it may come down to the killer making a mistake during the class trial."

"Perhaps," I said. "I've got one last lead left, even if it's a long shot, and I'd like to investigate it while there's still time."

I then left Inoue-kun, looking at my watch- about 15 minutes had passed since the Body Discovery Announcement. Since, from my recollection, none of the investigations lasted much longer than an hour, I would need to hurry.

* * *

On my way back to the computer lab, I ran into Sugiura-san. Since I'd hoped to speak to her and was too short on time to track people down, this was a fortuitous coincidence.

"Ah, hello, Sugiura-san," I said. "Have you found any sign that Katsura-san had been in any rooms on this floor?"

"Not at all," Katsura-san said. "If I had, I'd let you know... unless, of course, I was the blackened."

I realized that I'd done the lion's share of the work in most of the investigations. This wasn't a bad thing, since it was unwise to rely on anyone who might be willing to deceive me. It did explain why most of the others went off on their own, even if they ended up getting less done in the process.

"Speaking of which, I only have one more question," I said. "You had an alibi for the _entire_ time Katsura-san tried to kill me until I found you in the dining hall, didn't you?"

"That's right," Sugiura-san said. "Iwasawa can back me up, and I can also confirm that Kagami didn't leave the dining hall during that time."

With that, if the murder had happened before Night Time, I could eliminate the three in the kitchen. This was an encouraging sign, but Sugiura-san didn't seem to see it that way.

"You sound a bit disappointed," I said.

"Well, it would've been easier if some proof linked Kagami to the crime," Sugiura-san said. "He always seems like he's hiding something- not that I'm one to talk- so he'd probably be a more obvious culprit."

"I get what you're saying," I said. "Of course, in a situation like this, you can't make snap judgments based on who 'obviously' had to have done it- you must consider the facts and arrive at a conclusion, even if it isn't the one you want to believe."

The principle was a painful one, but it had to be said. Iwasawa-san had to confront the fact that Mitamura-san had betrayed the group by killing Mizuhara-kun, so might the day come when I had to make a similar realization about Sae? I hoped that I wouldn't, but I had to acknowledge that possibility.

"I know," Sugiura-san said. "Under most circumstances, I'm probably the number one suspect- whether for the most recent blackened or the mastermind. I guess it says a lot about this killing game that apart from the assholes who tried to pin their crimes on me, no one's jumping to conclusions and accusing me. Everyone's a suspect, after all."

The fact that we all had motives for murder cut both ways. Obviously, it meant that the people who seemed most trustworthy, like Mitamura-san, Sae and I, couldn't simply be ruled out. Less obviously, though, it also meant that it was unwise to jump to conclusions and point the finger at those you disliked or distrusted. We still hadn't fully resolved the issue of Sugiura-san being the Ultimate Poisoner, but at least no one was rushing to accuse her of Katsura-san's murder.

"Of course," I said. "Then again, Sugiura-san, while I haven't ruled you out, I also don't think there's any evidence connecting you to the killing, so you aren't very suspicious, at least until I find evidence suggesting otherwise."

Sugiura-san nodded gratefully. Perhaps she thought it was a ploy to get her to lower her guard, but my sentiments were sincere, so she seemed to accept them.

"That's good to hear," Sugiura-san said. "Katsura and I weren't close, but she seemed decent enough- well, before she tried to kill you, at least. I'd like to find out who killed her and why, and not just because my life's on the line."

I nodded in agreement, then got back to the investigation. There were still many things I didn't understand about Katsura-san's final hours, but I hoped that once I identified her killer, I'd learn the truth.

* * *

I went back to the computer lab, where Sae and Iwasawa-san were waiting. While most of us generally chose to investigate on our own, those guarding the crime scene were dependent on what they heard from those who fanned out around the school, so I had to keep them posted about what I'd found out.

"You're back, Kaori," Sae said. "Have you found any leads?"

"Unfortunately, no," I said. "The only idea I have left is to finish the game and investigate the secret compartment, but my next attempt won't come up until tonight."

"You might just be in luck," Iwasawa-san said, fishing around in her overalls' bib pocket. "I haven't even touched the game since it arrived, but I keep my memory card on me for safekeeping. You can borrow my card and-"

"Hold it right there!" Monokuma said, popping out of nowhere. "I don't know if you've forgotten, Iwasawa-san, but loaning your memory card to Miura-san is a big no-no."

Iwasawa-san stopped short, but after a moment, smiled, and pulled her memory card out of her pocket.

"All right," Iwasawa-san said. She then inserted her memory card and started up the game. "It's all yours, Miss Miura- unless Monokuma has any objections."

"None here," Monokuma said. "After all, what good is a set of rules if there aren't any loopholes? My rules aren't just to keep you bastards in line, but also to encourage you to find out sneaky ways to get past them. Have fun, Miura-san, but remember- this is your last shot at the game."

I nodded grimly, knowing that somehow, I'd have to deal with the Life-Threatening Game, a challenge that came down purely to luck. Still, I'd been given this chance, and was grateful for it.

"Thank you, Iwasawa-san," I said. "Here goes nothing."

I started up the game, at which point I saw the full introductory sequence. I hadn't seen it on my second and third attempts, which was for the best, since I'd wanted to get to the game, but I had to sit through it once more. Clearly, Iwasawa-san had never played the game, and I regretted not thinking to ask for her memory card earlier.

Now that I was on my fourth playthrough, getting through the game was a simple matter, and I didn't make any mistakes this time. Of course, while I had more than enough time, I knew that it would mean nothing if I couldn't clear the Life-Threatening game, and felt a sense of dread as I stood before it once again. Holding the revolver, I realized that not only were the odds against me if I failed, I would likely lose my only chance to uncover the truth behind this mystery.

After a moment, though, a thought occurred to me. The gun had said that five of the cylinders had a bullet, but it didn't say I had to point it at myself. I then pointed it at the wall, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

Like the time I'd fired the gun from the previous motive after expending my single bullet, the gun clicked. After a moment, the hexagon on the exit door turned from red to green, signaling that it was open. Without wasting a second, I went through, and saw a message pop up on my screen.

 _Congratulations! You have unlocked the fourth floor secret compartment. Please insert your memory card into the lock to open the door._

If this was a video game, I would have felt cheated out of a real ending- even the most poorly written and contrived endings of modern day gaming were better than this perfunctory congratulatory message. But this wasn't a game, and I immediately logged off and retrieved my memory card, desperate to find the evidence that would quite possibly save seven people's lives.

"So did you succeed?" Sae said.

"I did," I said as I took off the headset and handed it back to Iwasawa-san. "Iwasawa-san, could you please retrieve your memory card? There's somewhere I want to go."

"Certainly, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said, "but what about guarding the crime scene?"

"We aren't going very far," I said, "and if I'm right, we'll be headed to the _real_ crime scene. Besides, there might not be long left for this investigation, anyway."

Knowing that there was only one place that could fit that description, Iwasawa-san nodded, retrieved her memory card, and followed Sae and I as we left the computer lab.

* * *

The three of us stepped out into the hallway and went to the secret compartment. I had Iwasawa-san put her memory card into the slot, at which point the door opened outwards.

"Great job, Miura-san," Monokuma said, "or should I say 'Great job, _Iwasawa-san_ '? I guess you can join the club now."

"The club?" I said. "Who else unlocked this door?"

"Sorry, that's on a need-to-know basis," Monokuma said.

I sighed. While Monokuma was oddly forthcoming with information, it was clear that he only told us information whenever doing so suited his purposes... and we all knew what those purposes were.

"If I don't find out who the killer is, I'll die along with all the other spotless," I said. "I should think that counts as a definite 'need to know' situation for me."

"Not to me it doesn't," Monokuma said. "Well, enjoy what you find there, and be sure to check out the tablet PC- no one else has, yet."

Monokuma then left, leaving me to wonder whether he was telling the truth. Had someone really opened the compartment, but neglected to look at the prize we'd earned.

I took a look inside the secret compartment. The room was small and square-shaped, about as wide on each side as the door frame, and there was a shelf in the back. The first thing that struck my eye was a trophy that had apparently won by Talent High School's Ultimate Basketball Player about 30 years ago, not long after the school's founding. The top of it portrayed a tall young man in a basketball uniform about to perform a free throw... and the basketball was stained with blood.

"It looks like we've found the murder weapon," Iwasawa-san said.

"Or at least the thing that presumably caused Katsura-san's head wound," I said. "The killer must have assumed no one else would get inside here, so they chose to hide it here. If they went out of the way to hide the weapon, maybe the blow to the head's the actual cause of death, but I'm not entirely sure."

"That's possible," Sae said. "Of course, the Monokuma file aside, the blow to Katsura-san's head is more obvious than her broken neck, so maybe the killer hoped to hide the latter.

"You might be right," I said.

"By the way," Iwasawa-san said. "did either of you see Miss Katsura's business cards on the floor?"

I looked down and saw a few cards on the floor, which turned out to be more of Katsura-san's business cards. They'd been crinkled somewhat, albeit not as much as the ones that we'd found in her pocket, so maybe they'd been stuffed inside.

"It looks like this must have fallen out of Katsura-san's pants pockets," I said, "which mean that at some point, she- or at least her dead body- was here."

"Probably," Iwasawa-san said, "but how did she get inside?"

"We know that at least one other person can open the door," I said. "Maybe that person opened the compartment, or maybe Katsura-san herself did."

I took a look around the shelves, and saw various curios and relics of previous Talent High School students, from a framed article by the Ultimate Journalist to a yearbook from 10 years ago. For a moment, I had to wonder why an assortment of items that were mainly of sentimental value, albeit with the potential to fetch a good price from an interested buyer, were here. Then I remembered that they weren't what we were looking for.

I eventually noticed a small tablet PC that was prominently displayed- clearly the one Monokuma mentioned. Unlike all the other computers on the floor, could actually be turned on. Starting it up, I saw only one application, an e-reader program. The program had only one document inside- an ebook titled "The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy- Omnibus Edition." I could hardly believe what I was seeing, and after I read it aloud and showed it to the others, neither could Sae or Iwasawa-san.

"Why is a book like that in the compartment?" Iwasawa-san said. "And what is the Tragedy of Hope's Peak, anyway?"

I shrugged. Iwasawa-san probably wasn't all that well informed about current events if she'd spent much of her life without access to cable TV news or the Internet, so she'd probably barely even heard of Hope's Peak. That said, given how famous Hope's Peak was, the rest of us probably would have remembered hearing about it, unless it had happened in the last two years.

"For the first question, I'm guessing that it's our prize," I said. "For the second question... I don't know. It doesn't seem like it's relevant to the case, so let's put it aside for now."

What went unspoken was that in all likelihood, we'd only be able to look at it if we, with the exception of the blackened, survived the class trial. I still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of knowing that my life might end if the near future if I made the wrong decision, but I had managed to develop a sense of priorities. For now, anything that didn't help us uncover the culprit's identity could- and had to- wait until later, so I took the PC with me.

We took a quick look around the compartment and realizing that we'd looked everywhere, stepped outside.

"So what next?" Sae said. "We've found some clues, but nothing that would conclusively determine the killer's identity. Or am I wrong?"

"No, but I have an experiment I want to try," I said. "For it, I'll need Katsura-san's memory card. Iwasawa-san, could you please close the door and retrieve your card?"

While Iwasawa-san complied with my request, I retrieved Katsura-san's memory card from her body and returned to the door, glad that this did not count as "borrowing" the card from her. I then inserted the card, and was surprised to see that the door opened.

"So it works," I said. "Sae, could you please try yours?"

Sae nodded, but when she put her card in, the door remained locked. I followed suit after a while with my own memory card, and got the same result.

"So it's as I thought," I said. "Time permitting, I'd like to try this with everyone else, including-"

My words were cut off as the monitor came on once again.

"Time's up!" Monokuma said. "Please proceed to the courtroom for your fourth class trial!"

I checked my watch and saw that only about 40 minutes had passed since the start of the investigation, less than the previous three. Maybe it was because of the nature of the case, or maybe Monokuma just concluded the investigation on a whim, but I wasn't sure how useful this number would be for next time. What I did know was that unless we solved Katsura-san's murder, there wouldn't be a next time.

"Never mind," I said. "Just one more thing- don't mention what you saw in here to anyone else. I'm fairly certain that the culprit isn't any of us, but perhaps this may be the key to finding out who's responsible."

Sae and Iwasawa-san nodded. While it wasn't wise to trust anyone too much in the killing game, the two of them were some of my most loyal friends inside this school, so I was grateful for their help, and glad that neither of them was likely to be the culprit. Of course, one of the other five had betrayed the group and committed murder, so we were faced with the grim task of identifying that person- then sacrificing them so that the rest of us could live.

* * *

Within a few minutes, the eight of us assembled in front of the elevator. The other five had apparently gotten there shortly before Sae, Iwasawa-san and I did, since Monokuma's summons had only come a few minutes ago..

"All right, everyone got here in a timely manner this time," Monokuma said over the monitor. "Now please board the elevator and head down to the courtroom once again."

As the doors opened, the eight of us boarded the elevator. We were down to half of our original number, so the elevator felt twice as spacious as it had been the first time we'd rode on it. It would be even more spacious on the return trip, assuming there would be one.

Komaki Katsura was the Ultimate Saleswoman. She'd always possessed a dispassionate and logical mindset, but also believed in doing what was best for others. So why did she feel so strongly that we shouldn't complete FDR:VR? Why had she concluded that killing me was the best method to ensure that we wouldn't? And why had she ultimately failed to go through with it? The answers to these questions had most likely been lost forever, but I still thought of her as a friend, and swore I'd find her killer. Perhaps it was too late to do anything for her, but once again, we all would die if we failed to identify the culprit, an outcome the Katsura-san I remembered would never accept.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews and the theories. I always like when readers take the time to form theories, since, among other things, it shows what they think will happen next.

This investigation is a bit shorter than the others, which is part of the reason why I believe Monokuma doesn't have a specified time limit for the trials.

Next up is the trial. It will come out fairly soon, since I'm mostly finished with it. Once I've uploaded the rest of this Chapter, I'll be able to focus on Chapter V.


	21. Chapter IV, Part 6

_Class Trial_

We returned to the courtroom and saw two additional portraits- Hoshino-kun's had an X with stars on each end and in the center, a bit like a constellation, while Katsura-san's had the standard X. The courtroom this time was mostly pink, a similar hue as Katsura-san's suit.

"Wow, I can hardly believe we're up to the fourth class trial already," Monokuma said. "If I still have to explain the rules to you bastards at this point, then you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of identifying the blackened and surviving."

"There's no need for that," Kagami-kun said. "By now, it's clear that we know what we're doing."

I nodded confidently, but knew that the blackened was equally aware of this. Was the prospect of graduation enough for them to put their own life on the line, not to mention endanger all of ours, or had Monokuma somehow "sweetened the deal" with his secret secondary motive?

"So, where should we start?" Sugiura-san said. "The Monokuma File was... missing some important details this time."

"Of course it was!" Monokuma said. "It's supposed to give you some hints, not say 'whodunnit.' It wouldn't be any fun if a Sudoku puzzle had all 81 squares filled in, or if a crossword told you exactly what word to write in each line."

Once again, Monokuma showed us that he had a very twisted definition of "fun." Ideally, there wouldn't be any murders or class trials, but failing that, I hoped that the trials would be relatively easy so that the chance of finding the right person would be as high as possible. Perhaps it was naive to hope that the blackened would confess and essentially seal their fate, but we'd have to find the truth one way or another.

"Still, this is a bit of a departure from previous cases," Sugiura-san said. "Not only is the time of death missing, but the Monokuma File mentions two separate injuries, neither of which is confirmed as the cause of death. We don't know for certain whether Katsura died from her broken neck or the blow to her head."

"Maybe it's both," Inoue-kun said. "They might have hit her on the head hard enough to break her neck."

"That's unlikely," Kagami-kun said. "I highly doubt the culprit could have accomplished that with just a blow to the head."

No one else said anything, and Iwasawa-san tacitly backed off her theory. For now, we were all in agreement that Katsura received the blow to her head and broke her neck at two different times, even if we didn't yet know the order or the cause of those injuries.

"Does it matter?" Tezuka-kun said. "I don't think the cause of death proves who killed her. It's not like it's something only one of us could do."

"I think we should start with the time of death," Kagami-kun said. "If we can find out when Katsura-san died, we can possibly use that to determine which of us had alibis at the time, thereby narrowing down the list of suspects."

At this point, I could think of two possibilities- while Sae and I were going to get help, or during Night Time. The former would be difficult to prove, but if it was the latter, then finding a suspect would be almost impossible.

"I think we can figure out when the killing happened," Fukuda-kun said. "As I said earlier, Katsura's game timer ran out at 11:15, so she must have started playing at 10:45. She got ambushed and killed during that half hour period."

"But isn't that weird?" Tezuka-kun said. "Why'd she play the game while she was alone at night?"

"Probably because no one else was watching," Sugiura-san said. "If she wanted to complete the game without anyone finding out, Night Time would be the best chance."

If that was true, then it was significantly more likely that Katsura-san was not the one who couldn't let anyone finish FDR:VR. Of course, there was still a chance that Katsura-san was that person, and if it was, then Sugiura-san's argument no longer had any basis.

"So she was so impatient to play that she tried to stab Miura while Miura's BFF was in the same room?" Tezuka-kun said. "Come on, I don't buy that."

"Me neither," Inoue-kun said, "Besides, Katsura-san tried to convince us not to play the game the morning after we got it. Unless she was one of the people who Monokuma had given a secondary motive, I doubt she'd change her stance on it so suddenly."

I remembered when Katsura-san had watched Fukuda-kun play the game shortly before Night Time three nights ago. She'd given every indication that she'd wanted to play at the earliest possible opportunity and join the effort to continue the game. Less than half a day later, she'd practically done a 180 on that position, and we could only guess why.

"Consider this," Sugiura-san said. "If we agreed not to play FDR:VR, then there may have been an opportunity for someone to sneak in and play without anyone knowing about it. As such, Katsura would have opposed it, so that no one else could do so first. Since Miura was the first to play after Edogawa's almost successful attempt, and had the most experience, Katsura must have been afraid that Miura would be the first to clear the game."

"Or that Kaori would finish at all," Sae said. "Not only do we not know enough about why Katsura-san tried to kill Kaori, but it's beside the point for now."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Sugiura-san let her argument drop. After a moment, Fukuda-kun cleared his throat, then tried to get us back on track.

"Anyway, my point is Katsura died after we'd given up on the search," Fukuda-kun said, "which means apart from Miura and Edogawa, none of us have alibis during that time."

"That doesn't narrow it down very much," Sugiura-san said, disappointed. "Ordinarily, I'd assume Edogawa would want Katsura dead, whether out of revenge or to protect Miura, but if she's accounted for, then she can't have done it."

"Of course not," I said. "Sae stayed in my room, and it took about an hour for us to fall asleep. We were both in bed at 10:45 PM."

"Good point, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "But what about the timing of the murder? Katsura attacked you around 8:45, right?"

"That's right," I said. "Around that time, my session expired."

Fukuda-kun calmly nodded, making it clear that he was still getting to his point. While I knew he didn't have enough evidence to formally accuse Sae of murder, and he probably knew she couldn't have done it, I didn't like where this was going.

"In other words, the game became available at 10:45," Fukuda-kun said. "You, Edogawa and Katsura knew exactly when the game would open, didn't you? That way, if Katsura returned to the computer lab to play it, you two are the only other ones who'd know when she'd be able to start. I can't say for certain why Katsura decided to play, but the timing is rather suspicious."

"You probably knew, too, Fukuda-kun," Sae said. "You came in shortly after Katsura-san fled."

"I did," Fukuda-kun said, "but I only _just_ learned the exact time when Miura's session ended. It wouldn't be possible for me to go over there at the exact moment the game became available unless I was really lucky."

"It would be fairly easy for you to guess it," Sae said, "since you were on the floor and didn't see anyone play the game since Kaori was attacked. If you were wrong and there was time left in the lockout period, you could simply wait around for a few minutes. Since no one else was around during Night Time, you'd have virtually no chance of someone happening upon you."

"By that logic, pretty much anyone could do that," Fukuda-kun said. "Maybe you've got your reasons for suspecting me, but it's too soon to rule any of the others out."

What Sae was saying was fundamentally sound, but there was no real evidence behind it at this point, so we couldn't accuse Fukuda-kun just yet.

"I don't think this discussion's getting us anywhere," Iwasawa-san said. "Maybe we should go back to discussing the cause of death instead?"

"That's the problem," Sugiura-san said. "As I said earlier, the Monokuma File mentioned two possible fatal wounds, but didn't specify a cause of death."

"True," Kagami-kun said, "but if Monokuma made things deliberately vague, then it's possible that if we know what killed Katsura-san, we'll be very close to finding out _who_ killed her, just like when we investigated Mizuhara-kun's murder."

I nodded, then thought about the wounds. At this point, we had a potential weapon that could have inflicted blunt trauma, one that the killer had hid in the secret compartment. On the other hand, I couldn't think of anything that could have broken Katsura-san's neck. It seemed easier to make a case for the former as the cause of death, but what if the killer wanted us to think that?

"So the killer bashed her on the head?" Tezuka-kun said. "Miura has a blunt weapon, but she also has an alibi, so that's hard to say."

"Neither Kaori nor anyone else used the hammer she received," Sae said. "While I was in her room, I saw the box with her murder weapon, still unopened, this morning."

I nodded in agreement, once again glad that I'd invited Sae over. Something about Tezuka-kun's theory struck me as odd, but I decided to wait until I was sure what before speaking.

"Ok, maybe Miura- or whoever the killer is- didn't use a hammer," Tezuka-kun said. "Maybe they stole a hammer or other heavy blunt object from the warehouse like Sakuragi did, and whacked Katsura on the head, killing her the same way as Kurogane. Whatever happened, I'm positive that Katsura died from the blow to the head."

I shook my head. I still couldn't say for certain what had killed Katsura-san, but after hearing Tezuka-kun talk about it this way, I was certain that it wasn't being hit on the head.

"The killer couldn't have caused that injury while Katsura-san was sitting in the chair," I said. "The chair's back is too high for them to inflict a blow on the back of her head."

"But what if Katsura-san got up and tried to flee?" Inoue-kun said.

"She probably wouldn't have noticed the person coming," Sae said. "Kaori only became aware that Katsura-san was trying to kill her after I yelled to her."

"That, too," I said. "As for Katsura-san, she wasn't wearing the headset when the culprit struck her on the head, since the headset wasn't damaged."

"Yep, that's right!" Monokuma said. "If the console broke after getting hit, I'd have to punish whoever did it. It's a good thing things didn't come to that, since class trials aren't any fun when the blackened's already dead."

It was a bit uncomfortable having Monokuma agree with me, but if this piece of evidence helped us better understand how Katsura-san died, I could live with it.

"Anyway, it's possible that Katsura-san might have removed the headset in time," I said, "but if she'd noticed her attacker, she probably would have gotten farther away, or at least been hit from the front."

"Ah, right," Fukuda-kun said. "I remember us talking about this when discussing Kurogane's murder."

Tezuka-kun shrugged sheepishly, then let off a long sigh.

"Oh, looks like I'm wrong," Tezuka-kun said. "Well, it was worth a shot; it's not like I know how the killer could've broken her neck."

No one volunteered any theories, and I found it hard to argue with Tezuka-kun's assertion. The most obvious theory was that the killer had grabbed Katsura-san from behind and snapped her neck, but again, given the chair, that wasn't possible.

"So I gather this," Kagami-kun said. "One of the wounds actually killed Katsura-san, and the other was inflicted to prevent us from realizing the true cause of death. The only question is- which is which?"

"It's most likely that Katsura-san died from the broken neck," Sae said. "The blow to the head seems to be the more obvious injury, possibly intended to disguise the true cause of death."

"I agree," I said. "Maybe the culprit broke Katsura-san's neck first, then bashed her on the head to make sure she was dead."

"And they did all that in the computer lab?" Sugiura-san said. "Apart from the altercation you and Edogawa had with Katsura, there's no sign of a struggle, so I don't think the computer lab is the crime scene."

An idea occurred to me- perhaps we'd been thinking about this from the wrong angle all this time. Our understanding of how the murder had happened relied on a pair of mutually exclusive assumptions- one being that Katsura-san died while playing the game at 10:45, the other being that she would never play under any circumstances. They obviously couldn't both be true, but now, I realized which one was more likely to be false, and why it worked to the killer's advantage to let us believe that.

"Neither do I," I said. "Putting aside all the questions of why Katsura-san would play FDR:VR when she's alone and vulnerable, and after she'd opposed finishing the game, she didn't actually play the game. The killer must have staged it so that it looked like she was playing the game when she died, most likely to confuse us about the cause of death."

A few others were surprised, but Sae simply smiled, having evidently realized this as well. Fukuda-kun, however, didn't seem convinced.

"Interesting," Fukuda-kun said, "but that doesn't explain where she was killed. Like Sugiura said, we looked all over the school and didn't see any signs of a struggle. Where did the killer find her?"

"Just outside the secret compartment," I said. "The killer killed Katsura-san when she was just outside the compartment, opened it up, then put her body inside, before planting it in the computer lab to make it look like she'd been playing FDR:VR when she died."

"That's a fairly bold theory," Inoue-kun said. "Do you have any evidence?"

I nodded.

"I completed the game using Iwasawa-san's memory card," I said. "As a reward, Iwasawa-san was allowed to put her memory card into a lock on the fourth floor, thus opening up a secret compartment. The door can be opened as long as the card is in the lock, which, of course, is on the outside."

"So it's a pretty shitty hiding place, huh?" Tezuka-kun said. "If anyone can get in, you're dead meat if someone opens it up and tries to kill you- maybe that's what happened to Katsura. Hell, they could steal the card and leave you until you die of starvation, dehydration or suffocation."

Technically, the latter was impossible, since I'd seen an air vent. As for the other two, Katsura-san would probably be in bad shape after being stuck inside for twelve hours, but the ordeal probably wouldn't have been fatal if we'd gotten to her earlier this morning.

"I agree, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Of course, while the secret compartment is not a good place for a living person to hide, it's an excellent hiding place for a dead one. The killer probably killed Katsura-san in or around the secret compartment, stashed her body in there, and removed their card. At some point before 10:45 PM, they retrieved Iwasawa-san's corpse, along with her memory card, and took her to the game room, where they put the headset on her, inserted her memory card and started the game. Within half an hour, the time ran out, thus making us believe that Katsura-san had died later than she actually had."

"How do you know Katsura-san was even in the compartment?" Kagami-kun said.

"I found Katsura-san's business cards in the secret compartment," I said. "You all remember getting one from her, don't you?

Sae, Kagami-kun and Iwasawa-san simply nodded.

"I did," Inoue-kun said.

"Me too," Tezuka-kun said. "I dunno what she'd get out of being connected to the artist, so I put mine in my room."

"So did I," Fukuda-kun said. "What're you getting at, Miura?"

"It's simple," I said. "Since we all put the business cards away in our rooms so as to not put them through the laundry, the only place they could have come from was Katsura-san's own pocket. They along with her murder weapon, seems to prove that she was in there at some point, presumably after her death. Since the business cards were crinkled up, it's likely that the killer stuffed them back into her pocket after moving her body, to avoid leaving any trace of her behind."

Technically, there was one the killer had missed, but I decided to leave that be for now, saving it until the time came when I had to corner the blackened.

"So the killer was able to access the compartment," Inoue-kun said. "But who could it have been?"

"Well, it's obviously not a suicide if they moved the body and hit her after she died," Tezuka-kun said. "I couldn't have opened the compartment, either, since I hadn't completed the game, and neither did Inoue, unless he played in secret some time."

"I think we can rule out a few people," I said, "since I know some of us were unable to open the secret compartment due to not having completed the game. My third attempt at the game was interrupted when Katsura-san tried to kill me, and I only finished the game during the investigation. Sae had a failed attempt to clear the game before dinner last night, so she couldn't have tried again. Sugiura-san's card didn't work. Iwasawa-san had never played the game before."

"You don't know that," Fukuda-kun said. "Iwasawa might be lying about not having played before. Inoue said that someone played early yesterday morning, didn't he?"

"I did, Fukuda-kun," Inoue-kun said. "Given when everyone else played, it could have you, Iwasawa-san, Kagami-kun or Katsura-san."

"Exactly," Fukuda-kun said. "We all know Iwasawa's an early riser, so maybe she played the game before breakfast."

"Actually, I have proof that Iwasawa-san never played before," I said. "When I played the game with her memory card, I saw the introductory sequence, which only plays for first-time players. Apart from Sugiura-san and Kagami-kun, she's the only person I know of who'd never played the game before."

That didn't get me any closer to who'd played before Night Time ended yesterday morning, but finding the answer to that question wouldn't help us solve the case, so I decided to forget about it. I was currently down to four suspects, and if the crime took place when I thought it did, all but one had alibis.

"True," Fukuda-kun said. "But really, it's a bit of a stretch to say that whoever opened the secret compartment killed Katsura. You're saying that her body was kept there, along with the steak knife she got, but that doesn't prove anything, does it?"

Iwasawa-san, Sae and I turned white, since we were the only ones besides the killer who understood the importance of what he just said, so we were speechless for several moments. While everyone had colloquially called the weapons we got from Monokuma on the first night our "murder weapons," only the three of us knew that Katsura-san's steak knife had ended up in the secret compartment.

"It might," I said. "When I said 'murder weapon,' I didn't mean her steak knife- I meant the trophy that someone used to hit her on the head."

Sae and Iwasawa-san nodded grimly.

"Y-Yeah, that's what I meant," Fukuda-kun said, somewhat unconvincingly. "Oh, wait, we decided that Katsura didn't die from being hit on the head, didn't we?"

"That's right," I said, "but I'm sure the killer knew that long before we did."

"I guess," Fukuda-kun said. "What's your point?"

I let off a sigh. As fortunate as it had been that I'd found a lead that could identify the killer, I knew that when I pointed the finger at that person, I'd be signing their death warrant. Even though the evidence pointed to that person, they'd never pegged me as very likely to kill someone, but they'd share the same fate as Sakuragi-kun, Mitamura-san and Hoshino-kun. Still, the stakes were the same as the previous three trials, so I knew what I had to do this time.

"It's quite simple, Fukuda-kun," I said. "I believe that you were the one who killed Katsura-san."

Fukuda-kun shook his head, not at all disturbed by being accused of murder despite knowing what happened to the last three killers. I remembered him telling me that he was only able to climb by not letting his fears get the best of him, which made perfect sense here. His life had been on the line since the start of the class trial, so he wasn't about to slip up and give us reason to suspect him now.

"Ok, so I misspoke," Fukuda-kun said. "But is that the only reason you have for suspecting me?"

"Not at all," I said. "You were the first to suggest calling off the search for Katsura-san, most likely since you knew she was dead and wanted us out of the way so that you could move her body and falsify the time of her death."

"Why'd I go to all that trouble?" Fukuda-kun said. "I could just leave her body in the secret compartment and no one would ever find it, right?"

"At least until someone opened the compartment," I said. "Since we'd almost cleared the game, it would only be a matter of time before someone opened the compartment. Once we did, and found Katsura-san's body, all we'd need to do is to determine who besides the body discoverer could open the compartment, and we could easily identify the blackened."

"That would've been pretty boring," Monokuma said, "but it would've been even worse if no one found the body. If push came to shove, I might've dropped a little hint about Katsura-san so you could find her and get the ball rolling on her class trial."

Fukuda-kun shook his head.

"Yeah, but how'd you know when Katsura died, anyway?" Fukuda-kun said. "If, for example, we didn't open up the compartment until, say, this morning, how'd we know that Katsura died a little before 9 PM?"

"Since Katsura-san was last seen on the fourth floor, where you'd volunteered to search, you were the most obvious suspect," Sae said. "At the time, Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun were watching on the stairs to the third floor, and Kaori and I were in the dining hall with everyone else, so you were the only one near the crime scene who didn't have an alibi. That's why you most vigorously argued that the killing took place at 10:45, when no one besides Kaori and I had alibis."

"That's true," Iwasawa-san said. "Furthermore, I was the only person who learned about Miss Edogawa staying in Miss Miura's room before breakfast this morning, so you most likely assumed that _no one_ had an alibi, since we all usually sleep in our own rooms."

Fukuda-kun shook his head. By now, we'd gathered enough evidence to conclusively identify him as the killer, so what other rebuttals did he have?

"Let's say you're telling the truth, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "The killing would have had to happen just after you and Edogawa went downstairs, wouldn't it?"

"It would," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, where was Katsura when it happened?" Fukuda-kun said. "I approached the computer lab from opposite the stairs, so unless Katsura ran downstairs, I'd have seen her. Since none of us saw her, I doubt she just hung out on the third floor- she'd have been found if your group had come searching if that was the case."

I shook my head. Fukuda-kun's current strategy was to try to poke holes in my argument by any means necessary, even if he had to admit to not knowing what had happened. Unluckily for him, I had an explanation.

"Actually, Katsura-san had one hiding spot that, while less than idea, was available in a pinch," I said. "Namely, the secret compartment. It was the closest place to the computer lab, and one that she believed no one could open."

"No one... including her," Fukuda-kun said. "Didn't you say that Katsura refused to play the game?"

"I did," I said, "but for some reason, against all logic, her card _was_ able to open the lock. Sae and Iwasawa-san saw me use Katsura-san's card to open the secret compartment, so they can back me up."

As the two of them nodded, Fukuda-kun began sweating. While he was definitely in hot water, my argument wasn't enough to conclusively identify him as the blackened, so why was he so disturbed?

"You seem fairly surprised, Fukuda-kun," Sae said. "Is it because we exposed your lie... or were you honestly never aware that Katsura-san's card was able to open the door?"

Fukuda-kun's mouth gaped open. No one in the class trials, not even the blackened, were compelled to testify, but silence in the face of an accusation was usually quite damning. While I could potentially have convinced enough people to vote for him at this point, I chose to press on and conclusively find the truth behind this murder.

"If it's the latter, then I can think of an explanation," I said. "Fukuda-kun, possibly due to being the person who had to clear the game before everyone else, secretly finished the game early yesterday morning. After killing Katsura-san, he realized the secret compartment would be a good place to hide her body, so he used his own card to open it up, not realizing that she could use hers. If it's true that he didn't know that, he's the only person who could have done it."

"And if it isn't?" Kagami-kun said.

"Then it's possible the culprit used Katsura-san's card," I said. "However, I find it highly unlikely that the culprit would think to use Katsura-san's memory card to open the lock unless they made a lucky guess, or somehow already knew that it could open the lock. I only guessed it was possible after realizing that the compartment had been used to hide the body."

"That's possible," Kagami-kun said. "Your theory doesn't cover all the unanswered questions, but it does seem most likely that Fukuda-kun is the killer."

The others nodded.

"Speaking of unanswered questions..." Fukuda-kun said, "why would I kill Katsura? If I was the person who wanted to clear the game before everyone else, I'd already succeeded. There's no reason for me to put myself at risk like this."

"You mean apart from the fact that you'd graduate if you got away with killing someone?" Sugiura-san said. "Or the fact that Katsura was alone, panicking, and, despite being armed with a knife, easy pickings for anyone who wanted to kill her without being caught in the act?"

It was certainly possible that Fukuda-kun took advantage of my and Sae's departure to kill Katsura-san, but he surely must have known that once the time for the death was established, he'd quickly become the prime suspect, making killing her right then and there an unwise choice. That, combined with the fact that he'd only learned of Katsura-san's attempt on my life minutes before killing her, meant that his murdering her could only be a spur of the moment decision... or an accident.

"Maybe you didn't mean to," I said. "It's possible that you tried to restrain Katsura-san, ended up killing her by mistake, and realized that your only way out would be to graduate."

Ordinarily, those who'd plotted murder in order to graduate accepted the risks the moment they set out to kill someone. But what about someone who didn't mean to commit murder? If Fukuda-kun was that kind of person, perhaps he was willing to take his chances, or simply didn't want to die.

"Well, how would I do that?" Fukuda-kun said. "If I killed her outside the compartment, I couldn't have used the trophy inside, could I? She could've attacked me or gotten away by the time I retrieved it. Besides, it'd be pretty dangerous to grab her from behind and snap her neck, considering that A)Katsura's got a knife, and B)She's strong enough to not be completely helpless if I put her in a hold."

Sae and Iwasawa-san looked pensive for a moment, and I had to admit that I, too, was at a loss for words. I was still certain that Fukuda-kun was the culprit, but unless I could explain how he'd killed her, it would be difficult to convince everyone else to vote for him.

I took a moment to think about where the crime took place, and whether Fukuda-kun had any possible weapons we didn't know about. After a moment, though, inspiration struck me. There was one very large and noticeable "weapon," one we'd passed through every day since the floor had opened up, that could have broken Katsura-san's neck... possibly without Fukuda-kun needing to do anything.

"I can't argue with that," I said, "but maybe you didn't use a weapon. Katsura-san must have fallen down the stairs- I found her business card on the stairs between the third and fourth floors, before the rest of us met up with you. It wasn't there before, so she most likely dropped it when she died- between when we split up and when we met up with you again."

Fukuda-kun went silent. He'd always been able to find some flaw in any theory that could potentially implicate him as the culprit, so perhaps this was his way of tacitly surrendering.

"I think that settles it," Iwasawa-san said. "If what Miss Miura is saying is true, then Mr. Fukuda is the only possible suspect. If he isn't arguing with that conclusion, then we don't have any reason to doubt it, do we?"

"I'm not so sure," Kagami-kun said. "While Fukuda-kun's run out of arguments, he hasn't admitted his guilt just yet."

"Neither did Hoshino," Tezuka-kun said, "and we convicted him, didn't we?"

"It helps that he was waving that gun around like a lunatic, trying to scare us into voting for me," Sugiura-san said. "Guilty or not, Fukuda's keeping his head, so I'm not 100 percent sure about him."

"Well, how about this?" I said. "I'll explain how the murder occurred, and if I get anything wrong, Fukuda-kun can raise an objection."

 _The incident first happened around 8:45 PM, when Katsura-san attacked me on the fourth floor. Thanks to Sae's warning me, as well as protecting me, Katsura-san lost her nerve and ran off. Shortly after her departure, the culprit arrived, and I asked them to search the fourth floor while we headed downstairs, and had Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun set up a checkpoint on the third floor. We then headed to the dining hall to find the other three students._

 _While we were gone, the culprit encountered Katsura-san somewhere, presumably on the fourth floor, and an altercation broke out. The culprit apparently accidentally pushed Katsura-san down the stairs, resulting in her breaking her neck in the fall._ _After presumably checking to make sure no one was around, the culprit transported Katsura-san to the nearby storage compartment and opened it, most likely with their own card. They presumably stuffed Katsura-san's business cards back inside her pocket, but forgot one on the stairs, which I later discovered._ _After stowing Katsura-san's body inside, they struck her on the head, to make it seem as though she'd been bludgeoned to death with a trophy._ _The culprit then closed the compartment and retrieved the card, secure in the knowledge that only they could open it again._

 _By this time, Sae and I had reached the dining hall, where Iwasawa-san, Sugiura-san and Kagami-kun were waiting, oblivious to what had happened. Unaware that Katsura-san was already dead, we met up wit the other three, then searched for Katsura-san until Night Time. We then went to bed, giving the culprit a chance to put the next phase of their plan into action._

 _At around 10:45 PM, the culprit opened the storage compartment and carried Katsura-san's corpse to the game console. Starting it up with Katsura-san's memory card, they left her there, wearing the headset and gloves, to make it seem as though she'd died while playing the game. Since the rest of us were in our rooms, and none of us besides Sae and I had alibis, the culprit's plan was to confuse us as to the time of death, and make it more difficult to narrow down the suspects._

 _When morning came, we resumed the search, and found Katsura-san's body inside the computer lab. The culprit knew that we'd eventually find the body and have to solve the murder, but was counting on us being ignorant of two things- the presence of a secret compartment to hide the body, and the actual time of death. There is only one person who was unaccounted for during the most likely time Katsura-san was murdered, and could hide her body in the secret compartment._

 _That person is you, Daichi Fukuda-kun!_

After a few moments, Fukuda-kun let out a long sigh and sadly shook his head.

"I got nothing," Fukuda-kun said.

"So is that a confession?" I said. "Do you admit that you killed Katsura-san?"

"I... can't," Fukuda-kun said. "But I suppose everyone else here thinks I did it, don't they?"

Everyone else nodded, including those who'd doubted Fukuda-kun's guilt mere minutes ago, and I saw the faintest hint of a smile on Fukuda-kun's face. Under the rules, seven votes for Fukuda-kun as the blackened would seal his fate, no matter how he voted. If he was the only one who wasn't sure about who was guilty, he couldn't even postpone the inevitable. So why was he content with the outcome?

"So, it looks like this is it for me," Fukuda-kun said calmly, almost relievedly. "I guess there's no point in drawing this trial out any longer, is there, Monokuma?"

"You bet!" Monokuma said. "I's time to vote again! Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

The voting time began again. I still didn't know why Fukuda-kun would commit murder, but it didn't matter. Convicting him was the only way for the rest of us to survive, so in the end, I did what I had to, as did everyone else.

Fukuda-kun received eight votes, including his own, and the video poker display showed his face in all five slots, along with with "GUILTY."

* * *

After we cast our votes, the courtroom was quiet enough for us to hear a pin drop until Monokuma spoke once again.

"You got it right once again!" Monokuma said. "The blackened this time, the murderer who killed Komaki Katsura-san, is... Daichi Fukuda-kun!"

Fukuda-kun sighed. Once again, we achieved the best possible outcome to the class trial, even if it wasn't in any way good. Most of us would live on, at least for now... and one of us was going to die.

"So it's all over, huh?" Fukuda-kun said. "It might not mean much, but there's two things I'd like to tell you guys. I don't know if you'll believe me, but since I'm done for, I don't have anything left to lose."

I looked around, and no one was willing to doubt Fukuda-kun. Perhaps the blackened had committed murder and endangered our lives, but since they, too, were victims of this killing game, we owed it to them to hear them out.

"We're listening," I said. "At this point, the only thing we can do for you is to hear you out."

"Thank you," Fukuda-kun said. "First, I'm sorry for killing Katsura. I didn't intend to, but it happened anyway, so I'm still responsible for her death."

Fukuda-kun bowed deeply in apology. I think he knew at this point that some of us would never forgive him, and others might only falsely profess to have forgiven him so he could die in relative peace, but I don't think either mattered to him. All that he wanted was to express his remorse, and because of that, his apology sounded sincere.

"You didn't mean to?" Sugiura-san said.

Fukuda-kun rose, then shook his head.

"That's what I'm getting to," Fukuda-kun said. "The second thing I wanted to tell you was that I didn't keep my crime secret because I wanted to graduate."

"What do you mean?" I said.

Fukuda-kun glanced up at Monokuma.

"Go right ahead, Fukuda-kun," Monokuma said. "I'm sure they're all _dying_ to know why you betrayed them and killed Katsura-san, aren't they?"

Fukuda winced, then turned back to us. Monokuma clearly enjoyed us having to come to terms with the reasons why the latest culprit had committed murder, and it seemed like a fairly uncomfortable subject for Fukuda-kun. Even so, there were a few things that still didn't add up, so I wanted to hear Fukuda-kun's side of the story.

"Remember when Monokuma revealed that two of us had special jobs?" Fukuda-kun said. "Well, as you figured out, he was talking about me and Katsura. My job was to finish first, while hers was to make sure no one did. The night after we got the game, he told me that if I didn't succeed, if I told anyone about my motive, or if I tried to weasel my way out by breaking the game console, he'd kill my entire family. The same went for Katsura."

All the others seemed to be white as sheets. All this time, we'd been afraid for our lives, but it was even worse than we'd thought. Not only might we die if we made a wrong move, but our loved ones could potentially pay the price, too.

"That's horrible..." Iwasawa-san said. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Probably because with Akasaka dead, Fukuda and Katsura are among the few survivors with large families," Sugiura-san said. "I think I'm the only one left besides those two who has more than one sibling."

I had to wonder if Fukuda-kun was chosen because he was the most recent person to play the game, giving Katsura-san a window of opportunity until her main rival could try again. Of course, Katsura-san, despite having an unenviable position, had waited almost two days before finally resorting to murder.

"That sounds about right," Fukuda-kun said. "I'm not sure why he didn't target the rest of us- maybe he just needed a killer and a victim. In any case, he got what he wanted. Katsura's dead, and I'm going to be punished for killing her."

The others remained uncomfortably silent, knowing that once again, we'd only bought ourselves some time. Perhaps the next time Monokuma needed a motive, it would be our families' turn.

"Anyway, I guess he was trying to make her kill me," Fukuda-kun said. "Of course, I didn't learn about her 'job' until just before I killed her, so I don't think she ever learned about mine."

"So, by the time Katsura-san attacked Kaori, you'd already finished?" Sae said.

"Yep," Fukuda-kun said. "I had a pretty good grasp of the puzzles so far, and won the Life-Threatening Game by not pointing the gun at my own head- I just pulled the trigger on a whim, and happened to win that way. I kept it a secret and didn't show the tablet PC to anyone else because I didn't know who I could trust- I had won for my own selfish reasons, after all."

"It isn't selfish," I said. "From what it sounds like, you were simply trying to protect your family."

"So was Katsura," Fukuda-kun said. "And because of me, she lost pretty much everything."

* * *

 _Fukuda's Flashback_

As I was looking for Katsura just after Miura and Edogawa went downstairs, I heard a creak, and saw Katsura-san outside the secret compartment. In hindsight, she must've just exited it and closed the door behind her.

"K-Katsura?" I said.

"S-stay back!" Katsura said. "D-don't come any closer!"

"What is wrong with you?" I said. "Why'd you try to kill Miura like that?"

"I-I didn't have a choice," Katsura said. "Monokuma said that if someone won the game before I did, or if I broke the game console, my family would die. I...I thought Miura-san was going to win it, so... that's why I tried to kill her."

I was speechless. She must not have realized that I'd finished already- maybe Monokuma kept it a secret so that she'd still be desperate to kill for her family.

"B-but... when I tried to kill Miura-san, she asked me if I wanted her dead," Katsura said. "She hadn't done anything wrong- she was just trying to win the game and get the information that's behind that door. She doesn't deserve to die, just because she was going to win the game first."

"That's right," I said. "Besides, Miura wasn't going to win it first- I'd already completed it."

Katsura turned pale and tightened her grip on the knife. I wasn't sure if she was going to stab me- or herself- but I didn't want either to happen.

"C-calm down, Katsura," I said, taking a step toward her.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Katsura screamed.

Seeing her brandish the knife, I quickly lunged forward, trying to grab her by the wrists and force her to drop it. She reflexively took a step back, and lost her balance on the stairs, dropping the knife onto the top step as she did. I tried to reach out and grab her... but ended up only pushing her away as a result. She then tumbled down the stairs and lay at the bottom, not moving.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

I was speechless the entire time Fukuda-kun told his story, as was everyone else. Suddenly, Katsura-san's response to my question of whether I was the one she wanted dead came off in a new light. She didn't want _anyone_ dead, and while killing a friend to save her family was seemingly the obvious choice, it wasn't one she was prepared to make.

"That's pretty much what happened," Fukuda-kun said. "I didn't know if she was dead or not, but I was sure about one thing- I'd screwed up big-time. Not wanting anyone to find out, I hid her in the secret compartment."

I remembered what Katsura-san had said at the end of the previous trial- Hoshino-kun might have wanted to survive, but he also chose a path that would sacrifice other lives. No matter what choice Katsura-san made, people would have died- and I could just as easily have been in that situation.

"But when I saw Katsura lying there, I got scared, and knew I'd have to do something," Fukuda-kun said. "I opened up the door, and thought about just leaving Katsura there until she woke up- if she did, that is- but then I realized that she'd know someone had won the game, and might kill me- if not herself. Panicking, I then whacked her on the head with the trophy to make sure she was dead, then locked her body in the secret compartment. I finished shortly before you guys arrived."

So it was as I thought. Fukuda-kun had killed Katsura-san before Sae and I had returned. Perhaps leaving him to his own devices had caused this tragedy, but Fukuda-kun had sincerely wanted to bring Katsura-san back alive, so he hadn't intentionally betrayed us... at least not at first.

"But why didn't you say anything?" Sugiura-san said.

"A couple reasons," Fukuda-kun said. "When you guys got there, I... lost my nerve. It wasn't just that I knew I'd be executed if you realized I'd killed Katsura, but also because you were trying so hard to find her, to make sure another murder didn't happen. The most I could do was get you to give up on the search, because I knew you wouldn't find her alive."

I remained silent, realizing how little I'd understood Fukuda-kun. Until now, his actions had seemed consistent with a killer who wanted to hide his crime, but I was starting to understand his perspective... and to regret having to sentence him to death.

"When I got back to my room, I was overcome with guilt," Fukuda-kun said. "I thought about confessing or killing myself... but then Monokuma showed up, and gave me an offer I couldn't refuse."

* * *

 _Fukuda's POV_

As I shut the door behind me, I almost immediately noticed Monokuma standing in the middle of my room.

"What are you doing, Monokuma?" I said.

"I could ask you the same thing, Fukuda-kun," Monokuma said. "Poor Katsura-san... things really didn't go as I'd hoped, did they?"

"Like hell they didn't!" I said. "If you threatened her family and tried to get her to not let anyone win FDR:VR, you were probably hoping she'd kill me, weren't you?"

"All games encourage participation, don't they?" Monokuma said. "That's why I give you bastards motives- to make sure you get that little extra push to kill your friends."

I bit my lip. The truth was that Katsura was a decent person at heart who'd normally never consider murder, and even Monokuma threatening her family couldn't push her completely over the line. I hadn't intended to kill anyone either, but I screwed up and it happened anyway.

"Anyhow, you might have become the newest murderer, but your part isn't over yet," Monokuma said. "If you want me to leave your family alone, you're gonna have to give the class trial the old college try. As the blackened, that means getting your friends to convict someone else for the murder you committed. You don't have to _succeed_ , but if you don't make things fun, I'm gonna make you watch your family die before your execution."

I went pale. Knowing that I'd accidentally killed Katsura was bad enough, but letting the other seven die would be unforgivable.

"Th-That wasn't part of our deal!" I said.

"Neither was your killing Katsura-san," Monokuma said. "I was kind of hoping she'd be the one to snap and kill someone- too bad she only managed the former."

Bile rose in my throat. Maybe I was the wrong person to say this, because I'd killed Katsura, but I couldn't stand people badmouthing her.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that," I said.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Monokuma said. "Well, if you care about her that much, then be sure to fulfill our promise. Otherwise, she'll have died for nothing."

Monokuma then vanished, leaving me with the same dilemma Katsura had just faced- sacrifice my family or betray my friends. With a heavy heart, I set out to make the most difficult- and last- decision of my life.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

So this was Fukuda-kun's solution. By obeying Monokuma, he could protect his family from harm, and by allowing us to convict him, he'd ensure that none of us would be executed for his crime- he'd be the only one who'd have to die. It was the "best" possible outcome, but I don't think anyone except Fukuda-kun was completely willing to accept it.

"After that, it's just like Miura said," Fukuda-kun said. "Once everyone else was in bed, and the two hours since Miura's session were up, I returned to the crime scene. I then took Katsura's body out and planted her in the chair to make it seem like she'd been killed while playing the game, later than her actual time of death. Of course, I knew that even if I did all that, you guys would probably figure me out in the end.I guess it's for the best, after all."

Fukuda-kun's acceptance of his fate made me feel _more_ conflicted about convicting him, not less. In the past, I'd accepted convicting and executing the blackened as a necessary evil, since the spotless' lives were in danger and the blackened were willing to sacrifice them. With that in mind, I'd pursued Fukuda-kun as if he were trying to get away with his crime, but in hindsight, he wasn't trying to do that- he was trying to convince Monokuma he was playing his part, and possibly trying to make sure we'd understood the crime. And here I'd thought of him as yet another murderer who was trying to save his own life...

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Iwasawa-san said, breaking the silence. "Why did Miss Katsura's memory card let her into the compartment if she couldn't finish the game?"

"It's a special perk I gave Katsura-san," Monokuma said. "I didn't want to put her at too much of a disadvantage, since she couldn't finish the game, so I decided to give her a little extra bonus so she could do her job more efficiently. Of course, I told her that if she looked at the tablet PC inside of the compartment, or gave it to anyone else, I'd off her family."

Monokuma almost sounded as though he felt sorry for Katsura-san, and it wasn't hard to see why. While Fukuda-kun could have won his family's safety by finishing the game, the only way out for Katsura-san would be for someone to commit murder. Perhaps her plan was twofold- by killing me, she'd eliminate the person closest to finishing the came, and she'd willingly accept her execution in the hopes that Monokuma wouldn't have reason to use her family as leverage against her.

"Anyway, Miura, I hope you won't be too hard on Katsura," Fukuda-kun said, looking at me. "She was scared and facing an impossible decision with no one to turn to. I'm not saying she made the right call, but I think she knew it wasn't the best choice to make, and ended up regretting it. I definitely know that feeling..."

"I know," I said. "I think you two have that in common. I only wish you could have confided in me."

"Yeah," Fukuda-kun said with a bittersweet smile. "Anyway, Monokuma, please don't do anything to Katsura's family."

"Sure thing," Monokuma said, "since I'm not done using them just yet, after all. Besides, why kill them when I can let them suffer? They're gonna have to live with the fact that their daughter died after attempting murder for their sake, just like yours is gonna have to live with the fact that you're a murderer."

"I know," Fukuda-kun said. "Anyway, guys, I've got two final requests. The first is for everyone- if any of you get out of here, please tell my family and Katsura's family that I'm sorry for what I did."

"I will," I said.

Everyone nodded. We didn't know if we could fulfill that promise, but I, at least, added it to the growing list of things I wanted to do if I escaped.

"Thank you, Miura," Fukuda-kun said. "The second request is for you specifically- please don't blame yourself for what happened. There might be times when you make the wrong choice, or there isn't a 'right' choice to make, but no matter how hard things get, never give up on doing what you believe to be right."

I nodded solemnly, remembering my last dinner with Katsura-san. Both she and Fukuda-kun had been facing the same conundrum, and gave me the only advice that made sense to them in their present situation. I didn't know how justified their faith in me was, but I was certain that they'd meant what they said.

"I understand," I said. "I'll think of what you said whenever I doubt myself."

"I hope you're done with your last words, Fukuda-kun," Monokuma said. "We don't want to keep the audience waiting for your execution."

"Pretty much," Fukuda-kun said. "Let's get this over with."

Fukuda-kun looked around and saw all of us, paralyzed with dread once again. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, much like he presumably would if he were facing a difficult climb. He wasn't fearless, but now that his end was near, he was ready to face it as bravely as he could.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Rock Climber."

"Goodbye, everyone," Fukuda-kun said. "If anyone asks about me... tell them the truth, okay?"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

 **Game Over**

 **Fukuda-kun has been found guilty**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

 _The Ultimate Rock Climber, Daichi Fukuda's Execution: Executed_

 _Rocks Fall, Fukuda Dies  
_

After being pulled into the execution chamber, Fukuda-kun found himself standing on a scaffolding on the side of a cliff face. He was faced with the task of climbing to the top, a distance farther than I could calculate. It seemed to have few handholds, but the Ultimate Rock Climber showed his worth, and began scaling the cliff surprisingly well.

Soon after he started, the scaffolding fell, almost like at a hanging. Even a cursory glance was enough to reveal that the drop was far enough that Fukuda-kun wouldn't survive the impact. Shortly thereafter, the handholds that he'd used broke apart, and were no longer usable, so he couldn't even hang on for very long. His only way out was up, and so he continued climbing.

Time passed, and Fukuda-kun's bare hands began to bleed from clutching the rough stone at each hand-hold, but he kept going. Pebbles occasionally rained down on him, cutting his skin and bruising him. Despite the pain, he gritted his teeth, endured, and held on for dear life, while continuing to ascend the cliff at a quick and steady pace.

Fukuda-kun soon reached the top, grabbed on, and started to pull himself up... at which point, Monokuma activated a remote-controlled detonator, setting off a series of explosives inside the cliff. The entire cliff crumbled, taking Fukuda-kun with it. When the dust and smoke cleared, all I could see was a vast pile of rocks- Fukuda-kun's final resting place.

* * *

Silence reigned once again. The image of Fukuda-kun's demise had been burned into our memories, and his final words echoed in our minds. We'd achieved the best possible outcome, but this turn of events was a tragedy in which two of our classmates had lost their lives. The only way to save the remaining students' lives was to prevent murder, but all of the possible options- finding a way out of the school, killing the mastermind or getting everyone to resist the motives- seemed completely fantastical. I'd failed to prevent murder at any turn, and my role in solving the murders was only forestalling the inevitable. Perhaps that was part of the reason why Hoshino-kun chose to take his chances and try to graduate.

But while I lamented this outcome, I remembered my promise to Fukuda-kun. Blaming myself was little more than an exercise in self-pity, and disrespectful to Fukuda-kun's last wishes. I also had no desire to blame Katsura-san and the others who'd done things they regretted because of circumstances beyond their control, but didn't deserve to die for their mistakes. Instead, I resolved to keep on going, find the answers to our questions and save as many as I could. The first step in front of me was to ask a question that had occurred to me after the trial.

"And that's a wrap!" Monokuma said. "This trial was pretty fun, so I hope the next blackened doesn't disappoint me."

By now, there was no longer any doubt in our minds that a fifth murder and class trial would occur- with Monokuma going so far to ensure that we killed each other, the only reason it wouldn't happen was if we hadn't gotten through the fourth trial. If we got through the fifth trial, as well as the sixth, our "reward" would be to arrive at the endgame Kagmi-kun had predicted at the start- three students would remain, and once one of them was dead, the remaining two would be allowed to leave.

I didn't want to accept it, but I couldn't find anything to argue with. That said, there was one thing that Monokuma said that hadn't added up.

"I have a question, Monokuma," I said, "similar to the one Iwasawa-san asked after the second trial. All this time, you've deprived us of all means by which to contact the outside world, so how could the Katsura and Fukuda families learn of their children's deaths, or the actions they took that led to them?"

"Simple," Monokuma said. "The same way everyone else in the outside world does. Your killing school life is the hottest thing on TV right now, second only to the original game! Why don't I demonstrate it to you?"

The others stood there in stunned silence, unable to comprehend what they'd heard- or what they were about to see. Within moments, Monokuma changed the screen in the courtroom from displaying the aftermath of Fukuda-kun's execution... to displaying the seven of us standing there. The cameras didn't only let Monokuma watch us- they also let him film us.

"What the fuck?!" Tezuka-kun said. "You mean everyone out there's watching us killing each other in here, and they won't do shit to help us?"

"It's more like they _can't_ , Tezuka-kun," Monokuma said. "The locked door and barred windows in here don't just keep you bastards in- they keep everyone else out. They weren't originally designed for the former, but hey, it works out for the best."

After hearing that seemingly off-hand remark from Monokuma, I reached an epiphany of sorts, calming me down a little.

"I suppose that explains it," I said. "The front door and plates over the windows always seemed like they were installed from the inside, more to keep the outside world out than to keep us in. The only thing that changed was that someone- you and/or the mastermind- commandeered the method of opening the doors, right?"

"You sure catch on quickly, Miura-san!" Monokuma said. "Is it because you read the prize you got from beating the game?"

I stared blankly for a moment, then shook my head.

"I... haven't looked at it yet," I said. "I was too busy investigating the murder."

"Go right ahead!" Monokuma said. "Katsura-san wasn't allowed to take a look, and Fukuda-kun apparently never noticed it, but you're free to read it. Think of it as your reward for clearing the game."

I felt sick to my stomach, knowing nothing could be worth the loss of Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun. What was done was done, though. We'd pressed on and completed the game, not knowing of what consequences it would have, and a that was left was to review the information we'd worked so hard and unwittingly sacrificed two people to obtain.

"Anyway, you've all put on a good show for us so far," Monokuma said, "so I can't wait for the next murder. Until next time!"

Monokuma left once again, leaving us to ponder the loss of two more of our number- and the fact that more of us would join them in the future. After a moment, I realized something that I'd wondered about ever since last night.

"You know," I said, "I think Katsura-san actually _wanted_ to get caught."

"What do you mean?" Inoue-kun said.

"Since she didn't know about Fukuda-kun completing the game, she assumed that I was the closest to winning, and that if she killed me, she'd put a stop to it. That said, she chose such an obvious method, hoping that after she succeeded, she'd be caught and executed, while the rest of us would continue to live. The signed confession in her pocket is proof."

"That's certainly possible," Sae said. "Of course, in the end, she hesitated. Her family was in danger, but she couldn't simply bring herself to kill a friend."

"None of us are killers," I said, "which is why it's such a tragedy that we're trapped in this situation. That's why I think of Katsura-san, Fukuda-kun and the other blackened as victims of the killing game, just like those who were killed before. As for the killers, they... made mistakes, but they should never have had to end up here."

"I know," Sae said. "Still, as someone who knew Katsura-san, and might have become friends with her if we'd had the chance, I'm glad her nerve failed. Not only are you still alive, but I can remember her fondly."

We stood there in silence for a moment. Now that Monokuma was going the extra mile to sway us to kill each other, perhaps even those people who hadn't been tempted until now might be pushed past their breaking point and try to kill someone, like Katsura-san had. None of us considered ourselves an exception, so we couldn't help but wonder what choice we'd make when the time came.

For now, though, the trial was over, so the only thing we could do was return to the school. We rode back up the elevator once again, with one fewer member than we'd had when we'd gone down, all too used to it. As the five other students left the elevator and headed for the dorms, Sae turned to me.

"You seem troubled, Kaori," Sae said. "Would you like to talk about it, or would you perhaps like some space?"

"The former," I said. "More than anything, I'd just like to have you here."

Sae nodded.

"It's strange," I said. "The fact that any of us could be killed at any point- or become a killer- might discourage most people from getting attached, but for me, it's had the opposite effect. Knowing that I or any of the others I know could be killed forces me to not take any moment for granted."

"A wise perspective," Sae said. "If things had gone differently last night, one- or perhaps both- of us might not be standing here now."

"It does also make me wonder how close I was to my friends in the past," I said. "We hung out, made small talk and did things of little consequence until life took us in separate ways, whereupon we mostly forgot each other. Here, we haven't known each other for very long- well, apart from the two years we've forgotten- but don't have time to waste on that kind of frivolity."

Even our small talks in here served a purpose, since they helped us get to know each other better. It wasn't wise to trust anyone too much, as we'd done with Mitamura-san, but the spotless had to have enough trust in each other, or they wouldn't be able to put the pieces together and find the truth behind each class trial. Perhaps by talking to everyone, the mastermind would let some clue slip, and be revealed.

"That's true," Sae said, "but who knows? We might have been this close back when we were going to Talent High School together."

"Maybe," I said. "Still, I'm glad to have you with me, Sae."

"It's always a pleasure, Kaori," Sae said with a smile.

While we were talking, Iwasawa-san then walked up to us, stood there for a moment, then announced her presence.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Iwasawa-san said, "but Miss Sugiura wants to start lunch and she sent me to fetch you."

Sae and I looked at each other and nodded. Since Sugiura-san needed "supervision" while cooking, she couldn't get started until Iwasawa-san got back.

"We're coming," I said. "We'll have to apologize for making her wait."

We then followed Iwasawa-san to the dining hall.

* * *

We then arrived in the dining hall, where the others were sitting restlessly, in silence.

"We're here," I said. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Sugiura-san."

"Not a problem," Sugiura-san said. "I doubt anyone's hungry, but we should probably eat something."

Iwasawa-san and I watched Sugiura-san as she worked on a somewhat hasty lunch for all of us, and as she served it up. Once everyone was served, we started to eat, less out of hunger and more to finish it before it got cold. Despite that, I was glad to once again be able to eat with the others- or at least, everyone who was left.

"By the way, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said, once most of us had eaten all we'd cared to, "do you still have the tablet PC you found in the secret compartment?"

"I do," I said, "and I suppose it's time to share it with everyone here."

I put the tablet PC on the table, started it up, activated the setting to read it aloud... and couldn't believe what I heard.

 _What follows is an account of the events that led to the Worst, Most Despair Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind... and the collapse of civilization itself._

* * *

 _End of Chapter IV_

 _Students Remaining: 7_

 **Climbing Gloves** : A memento of Fukuda. Simple, practical and reliable, these gloves were everything the Ultimate Rock Climber could want.

* * *

 **Author's Notes  
**

I had to significantly revamp this murder over time, from when the crime occurred to how Katsura died (she'd originally died from Fukuda accidentally strangling her, but I realized that didn't make sense). Originally, Edogawa was meant to be a suspect, but the fact that she has an alibi meant that theory wouldn't hold much water.

The A/V room was a bit of an artifact from a previous version of the chapter, in which Fukuda and Sugiura searched the floor together, but Sugiura got locked inside the recording studio during the confrontation between Fukuda and Katsura. Previously, I'd also had Miura and Edogawa in the former's room during the search, but I decided it would make more sense to have them go get help (as well as warn the others that Katsura might try to stab them, since they didn't yet know her true reasons). Sugiura and Fukuda would have been paired up together, with the previous incident of Sugiura getting locked inside the recording studio, as well as her defective memory card, helping exonerate her.

Like with the second class trial, the post-trial scene turned out fairly long this time, since there was a lot to explain about the crime this time. Like with the fourth trial from the second game, both the victim and the killer's actions warranted additional explanation.

The next Chapter may take a while to come out. Without spoiling too much, the murder will directly tie into Chapter VI in some ways.

The omake this time shows what would have happened if Katsura was the killer (by way of Edogawa's nightmare the night before the trial), rather than the victim, as a way of exploring that alternative scenario.

* * *

 _Omake_

 _Edogawa's POV_

We returned to the courtroom for the fourth time, and saw Hoshino-kun's and Kaori's portraits had been added where the two of them had once stood.

"All right, you bastards, court is now in session," Monokuma said. "Once again, it's up to you to find out the killer, even if you're gonna have to do it without Miura-san this time."

"Shouldn't be that hard," Tezuka-kun said. "We already know who killed her- right, Katsura?"

Katsura-san remained silent. By this point, her clothes were covered with Kaori's blood, blood that had since more or less completely dried. Her suit was beyond any cleaner's skill, and defending her case was beyond any lawyer's.

"This trial's pretty much already over since someone already saw the crime," Fukuda-kun said. "Edogawa, can you tell us what happened?"

"Certainly," I said.

 _The crime took place not long after 8:30 PM, when Kaori and I went up to the computer lab. Kaori began to play, and while she was playing, the culprit walked up to her, took out the steak knife that they had received as their murder weapon, and fatally stabbed Kaori. Kaori died almost instantly once her heart was pierced, and when the killer withdrew the knife, her blood splattered over the culprit's clothes. I witnessed the crime, and shortly afterward, Fukuda-kun arrived, spotting the culprit at the scene. Both he and I, as well as that person, know perfectly well who killed Kaori._

 _That person is you, Komaki Katsura-san!_

It was a short summary of the case, far briefer than what Kaori usually did, but it seemed to do the job well enough. Katsura-san nodded grimly, and no one else raised any objections.

"So, Katsura-san," I said. "Do you confess?"

Katsura-san remained silent.

"So... she's not saying anything," Tezuka-kun said. "What now?"

"I think we can believe Edogawa-san," Inoue-kun said. "She's been trustworthy so far, and she wouldn't lie about this. Besides, Katsura-san has Miura-san's blood on her, and used her own murder weapon."

"Looks like you bastards have come to a decision," Monokuma said. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

We once again cast our votes, and the result was almost unanimous- seven of us voted for Katsura-san, while she voted for me. Once again, the standard fanfare announcing a "GUILTY" verdict played

"Well done!" Monokuma said. "The blackened who killed Kaori Miura-san is... Komaki Katsura-san!"

Katsura-san sighed.

"So, it's over," Katsura-san said. "Monokuma, is this good enough for you?"

"Well, that was a pretty half-baked murder plot," Monokuma said. "Even Sakuragi-kun was more competent than you. But I still got a murder out of that, so I can't complain. Don't worry, I'm not gonna lay a paw on your family."

"So is that why you killed Miura?" Fukuda-kun said.

"Yes," Katsura-san said. "I was told that if someone cleared the game, Monokuma would kill my family. I knew that the game would end if someone died, and so decided to kill Miura-san, the person closest to finishing the game."

"But wouldn't anyone have worked in that situation?" Tezuka-kun said.

"Possibly," Katsura-san said, "but I believed that if Miura-san completed the game before we assembled for the class trial, Monokuma would conclude that I hadn't fulfilled our agreement."

A tear ran down Katsura-san's face, a show of emotion I hadn't seen since her dear friend Akasaka-san's death. Meanwhile, Fukuda-kun looked visibly uncomfortable, far more than he usually was under the circumstances.

"But that doesn't matter," Katsura-san said. "I knew when I retrieved my knife that I'd have to kill someone who'd done nothing wrong in order to protect my family. The truth is that I'm a murderer who'd willingly choose to sacrifice one of you and endanger everyone else, so I don't blame you for sacrificing me."

Only now did it become clear why Katsura-san never tried to hide her crime. She'd known that it was wrong- a necessary evil to save several of her loved ones' lives, but wrong nevertheless- and was willing to accept the consequences of her actions so we wouldn't have to.

"I'd like to apologize, everyone," Katsura-san said, "particularly to you, Edogawa-san. I know you and Miura-san were close."

"I... I loved her," I said, choking up.

"I-I know," Katsura-san said. "Miura-san... thought the world of you. The pain of losing her may never fully fade, but please remember that to her, you were more than just her favorite author."

Katsura-san was clearly speaking from experience. Having lost a good friend, she'd learned what grief felt like, so it was only natural that she'd kill Kaori to protect her family. My heart had been torn asunder by Kaori's death, but I wasn't too lost in my own sorrow to forget about the pain of others.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Saleswoman," Monokuma said.

"I know what I've done can't be forgiven..." Katsura-san said, still bowed in apology, "but please believe me when I say that I wish there'd been some other way."

"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

 **Game Over**

 **Katsura-san has been found guilty**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

 _Komaki Katsura, the Ultimate Saleswoman's Execution: Executed_

 _A Bid For Justice_

Katsura-san stood on the stage in an auction hall. Her wrists and ankles were manacled, making it clear that she wasn't the auctioneer or a bidder, but the item on sale . A crowd of Monokumas made insultingly small bids on her, starting with five yen and going up five yen at a time. Every time, the bidders threw several coins at Katsura-san. By themselves, none of them were likely to kill her, but each impact was painful, cutting her skin open.

Eventually, the auctioneer got a winning bid of one nonemdecillion yen, dwarfing the previous bid of 200 yen. Monokuma then slammed his gavel, causing a giant one to slam down... right on top of Katsura-san. When it raised, I saw Katsura-san's remains, little more than a bloody smear, beneath where it had landed. The moment her life ended... so did my nightmare.

* * *

I then woke up with a start. It was all just a dream, and Kaori was still alive, but I'd woken up from one nightmare into another one. Unbeknownst to me, Katsura-san had been killed hours ago, while Kaori and I were getting help, and we would once again be thrust into another class trial before long. That said, the worst had not yet happened, and I was thankful for that, having learned to appreciate every day I, along with those I cared about, remained alive.


	22. Chapter V, Part 1

**Chapter V: When the World Begins**

 _Daily Life_

The seven of us sat in the dining hall, speechless after what we'd just heard from the e-book. Since it didn't seem to have sunk in the first time, I activated the "short version," advertised as the kind for students who were too lazy to do the reading, and the e-book read an abridged version aloud in Monokuma's voice.

 _At some point in the recent past, a little over a year ago, a tragedy occurred at Hope's Peak Academy, kicked off by the massacre of the student council. The details are unknown, but a group called the Ultimate Despair formed and, using an incident that had been covered up, gradually spread despair throughout the world. Riots, wars and other disasters ensued, and the world descended into chaos._

 _In order to shelter the best and brightest, in hopes of potentially rebuilding the world someday, Hope's Peak Academy transformed itself into a fallout shelter, sealing the sixteen members of its 78th class inside... including the ringleader of Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima. Enoshima, with the help of Monokuma and her sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, started a killing game within the walls of Hope's Peak, controlling Monokuma as her avatar and serving as the host of the killing game._

 _Nine out of the fifteen students participating perished- four students were murdered, three others were executed, one committed suicide and Monokuma killed Ikusaba, ostensibly for breaking the rules. In the end, the six survivors- Makoto Naegi, Kyouko Kirigiri, Toko Fukawa, Byakuya Togami, Aoi Asahina and Yasuhiro Hagakure- chose hope over despair, resulting in Enoshima being executed and their leaving for the outside world. The survivors' whereabouts and fate are currently unknown._

 _Not long after the Hope's Peak killing school life ended, the Talent High School killing school life began. If you are reading this, several murders have most likely occurred, and Talent High School's Ultimate students are going down the same path as their Hope's Peak counterparts. How many more will die, and how will this killing game end? Time will tell..._

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Tezuka-kun said. "All of civilization collapsed, just like that?!"

"I'm desperately hoping that it isn't true, Tezuka-kun," Inoue-kun said, "but if it is, then the outside world may not be the safe haven that we thought it was."

"Yeah, because this school isn't dangerous at all," Sugiura-san said sarcastically. "When the heads of the school started this up, they clearly weren't planning on Monokuma getting inside and making us kill each other. Someone must have brought him in."

"Someone who likely had help on the outside," Sae said. "This is too great of an effort to be undertaken alone."

"But is anyone even alive out there?" Inoue-kun said. "With the _possible_ exception of the six survivors of Hope's Peak?"

I nodded. This might have seemed like wishful thinking, but Monokuma had seemingly confirmed it, perhaps without intending to do so.

"Well, Monokuma did say that he had the Katsura and Fukuda families held hostage somewhere," I said. "Besides, if Naegi-kun and the others chose to leave, then there must be some chance of survival out there."

"That's true," Kagami-kun said.

"Good to hear it," Tezuka-kun said. "Too bad we still can't find a way out, even though we've literally been working on it since day one."

"I can't argue with that," I said. "At the same time, though, we haven't been faring any better when it comes to making a life for ourselves in this school without anyone killing each other. I think we all know that trying to prevent anyone from committing murder is only a temporary solution, at best. "

Everyone else remained silent. The point I'd just made had to be said, but it was quite difficult for the others to accept. There also was the fact that Monokuma's interference aside, this school was in many ways safer than the outside world. Which was the lesser of two evils? No one seemed to know.

"Because of that, I would like to propose something," I said. "Please spend the next two days thinking about what you want to do. At dinner two days from now, we will discuss this as a group."

No one answered my question immediately. An issue this difficult deserved more than a knee-jerk reaction, so they decided to take me up on my offer to take some time to think about it. None of us had ever been faced with a decision like this, even during the killing game, which was quite literally a matter of death, so it would take a great deal of time and thought to find the right choice.

* * *

Shortly after we finished eating, I returned to my room, sat down at my desk, and got out the pieces of paper with everyone's names on them, for another session of trying to find out who the mastermind could be. I then separated Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun's squares from the other nine. Since tearing them up or throwing them in the trash seemed disrespectful, I simply wrote three letters- "RIP- short for the English phrase "Rest In Peace."

I tried ranking the six other survivors, but found that the absence of Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun, neither of whom were especially strong suspects, didn't change much. Eventually, I lost focus and made squares for the seven students who'd died during or just before the first three trials, each in the same style as the two who'd just died, and then set out to rank all the students, both living and dead.

Based on the events of the last trial, I then came up with a different idea- ranking the students according to who was most likely to graduate. If the mastermind's plan was to convince us to succumb to temptation and kill each other, it only made sense that they'd want students who'd be prone to snapping and committing murder. Of course, that didn't exactly go anywhere- while Sakuragi-kun, Hoshino-kun and Mitamura-san were very likely to be killers, the same did not go for their victims, and both Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun had seemed like fairly stable individuals until Monokuma had threatened their families. With that possibility not having panned out, I decided to go back to the "least likely to be mastermind" ranking, but it didn't help me understand the situation any more than before.

Finally, as an exercise to test my own biases, I decided to ask myself, "Which person do I least want to be the mastermind?", and narrowed it down to those who were still alive. I had difficulty deciding on who the second through sixth ranked individuals were, but there was no doubt in my mind who was on top of the list- Sae.

Of course, it wasn't exactly likely that the mastermind had arranged all this as a game in which I was the protagonist, and chose to have the mastermind be the person I cared for most in a cruel plot twist- as the saying went, everyone was the star of their own story I wasn't self-centered or naïve enough to think that the entire killing game was focused on me- in fact, I actually hoped it wasn't.

I then came to an epiphany. While I knew that not everything happened for a reason, there was a reason connecting many factors related to Sae- why I'd always enjoyed spending time with her, why I'd wanted her to accept me, and why I hoped she could escape with me.

I was in love with Sae.

As simple as the answer was, it had taken me a long time to figure out, and admitting something like this to myself was never a small step. I'd looked up to her ever since I'd started reading her books, enjoyed spending time with her, and was even attracted to her, but hadn't quite triangulated the conclusion, simply because I was having a hard time accepting that I was in love with another girl. It was an odd realization for me to make when anyone could murder or betray their friends, but I couldn't deny it any longer.

As I thought about my time with Sae, I realized that this was the first time liking a girl had made me feel happy, rather than miserable. Perhaps if Sae felt the same way, that was all that mattered, and other people's opposition was simply a challenge to be overcome. Of course, if she never made it out of this school, or if she turned out to be the one responsible for the killing game, it would all be a moot point.

* * *

Shortly after finishing with my brainstorming session, I returned to the fourth floor, briefly passing by the computer lab. Not only had Katsura-san's corpse been removed, like with the previous four victims, but the game console was also gone, having served its purpose. I headed past the computer lab to check on the other change that happened after each murder.

I saw Sae near the stairs to the fifth floor. The shutter was still down, which told me all I needed to know.

"Ah, hello, Kaori," Sae said. "Were you here to check on whether the fifth floor is open yet?"

"Basically, I was," I said, "but it looks like I've found my answer. Now that I've found my answer, I'm off to the bathroom- I've got to pee."

Sae grinned faintly. She knew I'd never discuss my bodily functions so bluntly, from the call of nature to "that time of the month," so she recognized the invitation to talk privately for what it was.

"What a coincidence," Sae said. "So do I."

I headed off to the nearest girls' bathroom, which was on the fourth floor, and Sae quickly followed. Back when we'd been searching the fourth floor for Katsura-san, I'd briefly thought that she might have hid in the girls' bathroom, since Fukuda-kun might not have been willing to search inside, but the other three girls and I had searched there and found no trace of Katsura-san.

Once I was inside, I quickly looked around the bathroom and saw no security cameras. The only reason that Sakuragi-kun's murder had been discovered was that the camera in the hall had happened to spot his body when Fukuda-kun checked on us. As an extra layer of precaution, I had Sae come with me into a stall and locked the door behind us. We couldn't be too careful, though, so Sae stood toe-to-toe with me, leaned in close and spoke in a hushed tone.

"So, now that we're out of the range of the cameras," Sae said, "what do you _really_ want to talk about?"

"The locked shutter," I said. "Now that it's been proven that the next floor unlocks at some time during Night Time, rather than immediately after a trial, I'll lay in wait and see if I can catch the mastermind."

"That's a potentially good idea," Sae said, "but it's quite dangerous."

"The hallways aren't off limits at night time, so I won't get into trouble with Monokuma," I said. "If I see anyone else, I'll run away."

Sae remained silent, apparently still unconvinced.

"That said, Sae," I said, "you aren't wrong to be worried. To be honest, that's why I'm planning on doing it by myself, so that if it goes wrong, no harm will come to you."

"I understand that," Sae said, "and I also understand you wish to find the mastermind and end the killing game. But please be careful."

"I will," I said. "I'll stop by your room when I'm finished."

Satisfied with my answer, Sae walked over to a neighboring stall, apparently actually needing the toilet right now. After... doing her business... she flushed the toilet, then washed her hands before leaving alone. I waited around a few minutes to avoid drawing suspicion to myself before leaving the bathroom.

* * *

For the rest of the day, I hung out around the fourth floor, checking on the shutter every half hour or so until dinner. For the most part, I didn't see anyone... except for Inoue-kun, who'd stopped by the computer lab.

"Ah, hello, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said.

"Oh, Inoue-kun," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just stopping by the crime scene," Inoue-kun said, "to see if Monokuma cleaned it up like the last three times. It looks like he did."

I nodded.

"I wonder what he does with the bodies," I said, "but it's clear that he doesn't have any intention of giving us a proper funeral. Enoshima clearly had no respect for human life, so why would she treat us with any dignity in death?"

Inoue-kun shrugged, then chuckled softly.

"Is something funny?" I said.

"Not really," Inoue-kun said. "I'm just kind of surprised to hear you refer to Enoshima and Edogawa-san without honorifics."

I shrugged. Sae was probably the first friend who I'd been this familiar with- up until now, I'd used "-san" on most of the girls I knew- but it was old news by now.

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't feel like being polite to the woman who destroyed civilization and probably helped start this killing game," I said. "As for Sae, she's my best friend, and I find it pretty refreshing to talk casually with her. Do you find either odd?"

"Not at all," Inoue-kun said. "I feel the same way about Enoshima that you do, and as for Edogawa-san... I called my friends in America by their first names, without honorifics, simply because people tend to do that."

"Ah, I thought so," I said. "Yuuki-san would have felt right at home in that regard, but it would've been a real shock for Mitamura-san."

Inoue-kun nodded. I still remembered the time when he said that Mitamura-san would have been a prude by American standards.

"I once explained Japanese etiquette to some of my friends," Inoue-kun said. "They had pretty blank expressions on their faces when they heard that they'd have to call each other the equivalent of 'Mr. Last Name' or 'Miss Last Name' in English unless they were really close. When I said that only close friends and family use first names, one of them asked, 'Aren't we friends, Shinichi?' It made me happy to hear that, so I said yes."

I had to wonder what Inoue-kun's American friends would've thought of my mother. Not only did she still call her best friend from middle school Hiromi Narasaki, "Narasaki-san," but Narasaki-san still called Mom "Fujioka-san," even after Mom got married and changed her name.

"That's nice," I said. "In my case, though, I think of calling Sae by her first name as something special I can do for her. I think of you as a friend, though, so if you'd like to call me by my first name, I could get used to it."

"I'll think about it," Inoue-kun said.

Inoue-kun said goodbye to me for now, unaware of the secret mission I'd taken upon myself. It wasn't as though I didn't trust him- I simply didn't want to risk my plan being leaked and waste what was perhaps my last chance at finding the mastermind through this method.

* * *

At around 9:45 PM, I set out for the fourth floor, and confirmed that the shutter was still locked. I didn't see anyone else in there or on the upper floors of the school, since everyone was probably turning in early after yet another difficult day.

Ten minutes later, just before Monokuma's Night Time announcement played, I hid myself in the girls' bathroom. Perhaps it would be impossible to conceal myself if the mastermind had access to the cameras, but I hoped they would assume the coast was clear.

Once the Night Time announcement played, I emerged from the bathroom, and found a hiding spot in a classroom near the stairs up to the fifth floor- I crouched down and leaned against the wall near the door. It would be difficult to see the mastermind coming, but I could hear them approach, so I waited quietly for the sound of footsteps.

Less than 15 minutes later, I heard the sound of footsteps, and my ears perked up, hoping to hear who was making them. A few seconds later, the footsteps grew closer, and the sound was loud enough to be instantly recognizable.

It was the all too familiar waddle of Monokuma's robotic paws on the floor.

"My, my, Miura-san!" Monokuma called out, even though he couldn't see me. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"None of your business," I said, standing up and making myself visible now that I'd been discovered. At best, hiding would be an exercise in futility. At worst, giving Monokuma any indication that I was trying to run away might get me killed.

"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma said. "You certainly sound disappointed. Might you have been expecting someone else- the mastermind, perhaps?"

I was taken aback, but did my best to keep a good poker face and avoid inadvertently giving Monokuma any indication he'd seen right through me.

"You seem fairly sure of that," I said. "What gave you that idea?"

"Simple!" Monokuma said. "There's only two ways to stop this killing game- kill the mastermind or graduate. We all know that a goody-two-shoes like you is gonna choose the one with the lower death toll... unless you're cut from the same cloth as Mitamura-san, that is!"

"That doesn't explain why you thought I'd be here," I said.

"Cuz you were obviously expecting the mastermind to come up here and open the door, so you could waylay them!" Monokuma said. "Too bad for you opening the next floor's one of those tasks that got 'outsourced' to a robot."

I was reminded of how unlike our mastermind, Enoshima had controlled Monokuma from a control room during the Hope's Peak killing school life. While that kept her out of harm's way, it meant that Monokuma couldn't do anything unless she operated him, which may have played a role in her downfall. This time, since Monokuma was able to operate autonomously, I'd have to think of something different.

"Just like a lot of what goes on in the killing game," I said. "What does the mastermind even do, anyway?"

"A lot!" Monokuma said. "They came up with the motives, make sure this despairingly adorable mascot keeps running and, of course, brought the killing game to Talent High School in the first place!"

"So, in other words, they probably kept their memories," I said.

It was more of a statement than a question, but Monokuma had no intention of answering, and so he ignored it.

"I'm gonna give you a bit of free advice, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "You won't get anywhere by waiting for the mastermind around here like this, since they haven't set foot up here since the killing game started, either. They don't need to, after all, since they can operate the whole thing from the comfort of their room."

"That's unusually generous of you," I said. "I recall you saying that the killing game would end if the mastermind dies, so you don't have any reason to help me, do you?"

"Which is why I'm not," Monokuma said. "I just want you to cut out all this overthinking crap and get to the part where you kill the one you think is the mastermind, already! It's a one in six chance, so the odds aren't that bad! If you get the wrong one, it's not a total loss- you can graduate if you trick your classmates into voting for the wrong person!"

I winced, remembering the last person who'd been in that situation. Fukuda-kun had hoped that we'd convict him, but he'd been scared all this time, so he couldn't bring himself to confess, even before Monokuma blackmailed him into trying to get away with his crime. The thought of dying was as terrifying as it had been when Monokuma announced the killing game, without even considering what sort of grisly tailor-made punishment Monokuma had in store for me.

"Anyway, I'm gonna open the fifth floor," Monokuma said. "Run along and go to bed before I find something to punish you for."

I nodded and complied. Life was about choosing your battles, so I didn't see any point in fighting one I could no longer win. Finding the mastermind by doing a stakeout near the next floor was no longer a workable idea- and perhaps it never had been- so now I had to go back to the drawing board once again.

* * *

I returned to the dorms, and knocked on Sae's door.

"It's me," I said. "Are you awake, Sae?"

"Coming, Kaori," Sae said.

Within moments, Sae answered the door, probably having rushed there the instant she heard me. She was still wearing her uniform and the lights were on in her room, so she clearly had sat up waiting for me.

"The mastermind never showed up," I said. "Monokuma was the one who unlocked the floor, so this was all an exercise in futility."

Sae sighed, disappointed. She'd clearly been relieved to see that I was safe, but had also hoped that my reckless attempt at finding the mastermind had borne some fruit.

"I see," Sae said. "I'm honestly sorry to hear that, even if I'm glad you're safe."

"In retrospect, it's not too surprising," I said, "since Monokuma never makes things easy for us. It is disappointing, though."

"True," Sae said. "Why don't you go to bed for tonight, and maybe we can talk more later?"

"I will," I said. "Good night, Sae."

"Good night, Kaori," Sae said, before shutting the door.

For a moment, I wondered if my plan had been leaked, but I realized that there were too many other possible explanations. Monokuma had clearly seen me on the surveillance cameras, and knew I would be waiting.

Of course, the fact that Sae may not have told Monokuma about my plan didn't necessarily mean that she _wasn't_ the mastermind, nor did the fact that I didn't want her to be the person behind the killing game. If I found proof to rule her out as a suspect, I'd be one step closer to finding the mastermind, but if she was the mastermind, then ruling her out was the last thing I wanted.

For now, though, I realized that I couldn't make any progress on this tonight, and followed Sae's advice to go to bed.

* * *

I had trouble sleeping once again that night. Not only had two more of us died in the recent past, but we'd heard of a global catastrophe that had killed millions, or perhaps billions. It was tempting to assume that Monokuma had twisted some lie to torment us while we were trapped with no access to information, but it was all too consistent with what we were experiencing.

Right now, we were quite possibly facing the proverbial situation of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Inside the school, we were at Monokuma's mercy, but we had clean water, fresh air and edible food, which was likely more than we could say for outside. Despite that, the six survivors of Hope's Peak's final class had chosen to brave the outside world. Was it out of hope or because they had no other choice? Had their decision brought them freedom or sealed their fates? We'd only know if we managed to do the same… assuming we found a way out, that is.

Sleep was elusive, but answers to these questions were even more so, so I found the former before the latter.

* * *

 _Day 22_

After waking up, I proceeded to the dining hall, and saw Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun sitting across from each other at the large table, in silence. They usually got along despite their starkly different personalities, so it was a bit troubling to see them like this.

"Hey, Miura, I've got a question," Tezuka-kun said. "How many people do you think we'll need to repopulate the human race?"

"I'm not an expert," I said, "but I think I heard you need at least 500 or so genetically diverse people to prevent inbreeding."

"Five _hundred_?" Tezuka-kun said. "Holy shit, that's a hell of a lot more than I thought. I was kind of hoping that the seven- or even the sixteen- of us would be enough."

"I'm afraid not," I said. "The most optimistic spin I can put on this is that the administration of this school didn't seriously think that this plan was humanity's best hope to rise from the ashes and start over."

There were other problems with the idea. Not only were most of our talents- which ranged from playing board games to writing books, of limited use in rebuilding civilization, but most of us had been groomed for a career in a relatively prosperous modern society. Most of us relied on current technology for our daily routines, while others needed it for their careers of choice, so we'd be hard-pressed to live without it.

"Anyway, is this about what we learned yesterday?" I said.

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I've been trying to convince Inoue that things aren't completely hopeless for humanity, but haven't been doing so hot."

"I appreciate the thought, Tezuka-kun," Inoue-kun said. "That said, we do need to acknowledge the worst-case scenario- that our generation may be the last one alive on Earth, and the seven of us might just be the only humans left alive."

The idea was extremely hard to grasp. Were all of our family, friends and other loved ones outside the school dead? If so, then humanity was beyond hope of recovery. We'd probably live out the rest of our fairly short lives knowing that virtually everyone we cared about was gone, and that we had no chance of leaving behind a positive legacy for the next generation- because there wouldn't be one.

Before despair could overwhelm me, I realized that not everything added up. Would Monokuma really make an empty threat to kill our families when said families were already dead? Would Monokuma air this show on TV without an audience? Perhaps there was a bit of wishful thinking involved in this line of thought, but thee were still too many things we didn't understand, so there was no point jumping to the worst conclusions.

"That's possible," I said, "but if we're the only humans left, then why would Monokuma broadcast this to the outside world? There isn't a point if there's no one left alive to watch it, right?"

"I guess not," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, even if a lot of people are still alive right now, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll stay that wasy for long."

From what I'd heard, the Tragedy had happened about a year ago. The death toll had been catastrophic, but I doubted that humanity could have gone extinct in a year. On the other hand, it was very likely that our species was on a downward spiral.

"Still," Inoue-kun said, "I may not be the most optimistic individual, but while I can imagine something this bleak happening, I can't accept it. I can't accept that my home and school were destroyed, my family and friends are dead and civilization itself is no more. Maybe it's just blind faith without any basis, but it's something to hold on to, so I'll do just that."

"That's the spirit, Inoue-kun," I said. "As bleak as things seem, please don't give up."

The rest of us came into the dining hall for breakfast, and sat around the long table, filling seven out of the eight seats. Suddenly, Monokuma popped in, and sat in the empty chair

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" Monokuma said. "I hope you're having a lovely morning inside this school, 'cause it's anything but lovely outside! I'd give you a weather report, but I don't think anyone's around to do that anymore!"

We simply stared at Monokuma. His questionable sense of humor aside, it had been weeks since we'd even thought about the weather, a natural consequences of spending 24 hours a day indoors. As much as we appreciated not having to worry about packing umbrellas if it rained, or an unusually hot day causing us to sweat into our winter uniforms, we had to wonder how nightmarish the weather was outside.

"Oh, you're not surprised?" Monokuma said. "I guess Miura-san held a group reading session and had you learn about what happened to the rest of the world. Good for her."

"It's not much of a guess if you have the security cameras," I said. "Besides, you definitely seemed like you wanted to encourage us to read that e-book."

"Of course!" Monokuma said. "Information wants to be free, after all, especially when it's despairingly bad news. This is what you got from Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun's deaths, after all."

I bit my lip. Once again, Monokuma twisted things to his advantage, driving us further into despair. It was very much like him to enjoy making us choose between the killing game and the ruined world outside.

"Anyway, I've got some good news and bad news," Monokuma said. "The good news is that fifth floor of the school is now open. The bad news is that since that's the top floor, there aren't gonna be any more rewards for getting get through class trials."

It was a bit surprising that Monokuma had given us news that was good by our standards, not his. As far as the bad news went, though, I'd certainly heard a lot worse, even in the past 24 hours.

"Why not?" Inoue-kun said.

"Two reasons," Monokuma said. "One, there's not a whole lot of you bastards left, so the killing game's almost over- there's only gonna be, at most, two more class trials before we've got too few people for one. Second, the school's only got five floors, so I can't open up another floor if it doesn't exist, can I?"

"Maybe not," Sae said, "but that's only if you're talking about the school. I notice that the upper floors of the dorms have been sealed off since the start of the killing game."

"Sorry, Edogawa-san, that place is off limits," Monokuma said. "This is a school, so you brats can't just wander around wherever you feel like. Hell, I'd actually say I'm pretty darn generous, letting you go into the faculty offices and other places that students normally couldn't set foot in- or don't you remember the time you and Miura-san did a murder investigation in the little boys' room?"

"In other words, it might be a problem for you if we went to those places you've locked up," Sae said.

"Think of it this way," Monokuma said. "This here school's your little slice of paradise, with drinkable water, breathable air and a roof over your heads. You get three squares a day courtesy of Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san- as long as they're alive, of course- and the only rules are the ones I make. If that's not good enough for you bastards, then get cracking on a murder plot. If you succeed, you get to leave, and if you don't... well, you don't have to live here anymore."

I looked around, and saw the others looking dispirited. At this point, it was unlikely that anyone would kill someone just to graduate, but what was waiting for us if we got out of here?

Ordinarily, the answer would be obvious. We'd be reunited with our families, return home, and resume our old lives again, living in relative comfort and safety. But what if our families were dead? What if our homes and schools were destroyed? What if the outside world was a lawless, polluted post-apocalyptic wasteland? Under those circumstances, living in this school, under Monokuma's thumb and with the ever-present threat of death was almost a good choice... almost. Our current situation hadn't improved at all, even if the alternative we'd sought no longer seemed like a viable choice.

"I've said my bit for now," Monokuma said. "Enjoy the rest of the school, kids!"

Monokuma disappeared again.

"So... what now?" Tezuka-kun said.

"If nothing else, we know what to do next," I said. "Is everyone here in favor of exploring the fifth floor?"

Everyone said "Aye."

"Good," I said. "One last time, we'll leave to explore the floor after breakfast."

"So we're going to look around until lunch?" Inoue-kun said. "It seems like we have a lot of ground to cover with so few of us remaining- I'm the only one from Group 4 who's still alive."

We nodded sadly, as I once again thought of the four groups Mitamura-san had assigned. Apart from Inoue-kun's group, all of them were down to half their original members. Four specialized groups, each with their own goals, hadn't been an entirely bad idea, but it was one of several things that had fallen by the wayside as we'd adjusted to our situation. I had to wonder what Mitamura-san might have done if she'd lived long enough.

"Just look around and find out what you can," I said. "If you discover anything later, just report it to us."

The others nodded. None of us had any reason to hope that we'd find a way out on the final floor, even if that was what we wanted. In spite of that, we had more unanswered questions than ever, and hoped that the next floor would shed light on the truth, even if it was painful to hear.

* * *

We proceeded to the fifth floor. Our initial investigation confirmed that the only stairs were the ones connecting the fifth floor to the fourth. Once again, I remembered how we hadn't found any elevators or emergency exits. As I remembered that, I also remembered how strange I'd found it, even though I'd stopped thinking twice about the stranger parts of the school, such as the iron plates on the windows.

"So this is the top," Iwasawa-san said. "It doesn't seem like we can just walk onto the roof and sit there, like I heard students often do."

"Yeah, but technically, you're not supposed to do that," Tezuka-kun said. "Before you say that I sound like Mitamura, I found out when I brought my lunch up to the roof of my old school and started drawing clouds after I was done eating. Lucky for me, they let me off with a warning."

Tezuka-kun had a bittersweet smile on his face, knowing that he wasn't the only one who felt this way. Despite knowing we'd have to graduate or escape to return to our old lives, we couldn't help but yearn for our homes and families. Even though the Tragedy had resulted in civilization's collapse, we still desperately hoped that everyone and everything dear to us had survived.

"That's fair enough, Mr. Tezuka," Iwasawa-san said. "Of course, I don't think it's a bad thing if you sound like Miss Mitamura."

"Very well, Iwasawa-san," Tezuka-kun said. "If it meets with your approval, I shall emulate Mitamura-san and do all the shit that she used t- ah, fuck it."

Iwasawa-san let off a surprisingly hearty laugh.

"Just be yourself," Iwasawa-san said. "As much as I'd like to be Miss Mitamura- or at least the person she wanted to be seen as- I can't do that, and neither can you."

Tezuka-kun nodded approvingly, and said "Thanks, Iwasawa." With the exception of the mastermind in our midst, it was clear that we'd become good friends by this point. Of course, friendships were not unbreakable, and perhaps this time, Monokuma would bring an especially strong motive to bear in hopes of shattering our bonds and forcing us to commit murder.

* * *

As we explored the fifth floor, I saw Inoue-kun in a classroom.

"Hi, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "Before you ask, I didn't find anything here."

I nodded, then looked around for a moment. Once again, nothing stood out- after all, classrooms were merely places for students to sit as they listened to a teacher.

"I'm actually curious about something, Inoue-kun," I said. "Does America- I mean, _did_ America- have any schools like Talent High School or Hope's Peak?"

"They did," Tezuka-kun said, "as did several other countries. There's a couple invitation-only schools scattered around the US, but none are as famous as Hope's Peak. The most prestigious and successful one was the Gifted Youth Institute in New York. Every year, it recruited the best students in various studies and disciplines, although there was no single Ultimate."

"So if you'd gone there, one of your senpai might have also been the Ultimate Linguist?" I said.

"Probably," Inoue-kun said, "or maybe one of my yearmates. I'm not the only kid who knows a lot of languages, which makes me wonder if I'm even the best."

I shrugged.

"I can't say," I said, "but I don't know of any Japanese teenager who deserves the title more. I'm sure that if Talent High School knew of anyone better in our age group, they'd have recruited that person instead."

Inoue-kun smiled and said "Thanks." After that, we looked around for a minute, but didn't find anything.

"Speaking of the Ultimate Linguist," Inoue-kun said, "I actually heard that there was another Ultimate Linguist in the tenth class of Talent High School- 23 years before we came here. They said this person wasn't quite as accomplished as me, but I don't know if this was just flattery."

"Who knows?" I said. "Maybe they were trying to butter you up, or maybe they thought you'd be more valuable to the study of talent than the one before you."

"Could be," Inoue-kun said. "The more time I spend in this school, the more questions I have. I'd like to ask the headmistress and the rest of the administration about this, but they're most likely all dead."

"I know," I said. "Maybe we'll find the answers we're seeking elsewhere."

I then got back to the investigation. We were running out of school to explore, so I hoped the headmistress' office would be open, and I could find the answers I sought in there.

* * *

I found Kagami-kun in a room that seemed to be a physics lab, standing near a large machine that took up most of the room.

"Oh, hello, Kagami-kun," I said. "What have you found?"

"According to Monokuma, it's an air purifier," Kagami-kun said, "a replica of a machine made by Hope's Peak's Ultimate Physicist. It's the reason why we have air to breathe in here, so he discouraged us from touching it."

I checked my notepad, but found that there wasn't any rule saying "Don't break the air purifier" in there. More to the point, after what we'd learned, it was more or less obvious that we weren't getting our air from outside. Since none of us had gotten sick or died from drinking water or taking showers, it thus followed that there was probably a water purification system somewhere.

"A replica?" I said. "Did the Ultimate Physicist make this personally, or did someone copy that person's creation without permission? If it's the latter, I can imagine that the Ultimate Physicist wouldn't take kindly to that."

"That's certainly true," Kagami-kun said, "which does explain why it looks familiar, but I think you should be a little grateful to _whoever_ brought it in. If not for their efforts, you wouldn't be able to live in here."

I had to admit that if not for the killing game, it wouldn't be so bad to stay in here. While we'd probably suffer from the worst case of cabin fever ever, at least we'd be safe and relatively comfortable. All the same, I couldn't help but wonder how our "benefactors" kept us fed, or acknowledge that their only reason for doing so was that we wouldn't starve before killing each other.

"I know," I said. "Of course, Monokuma and the mastermind helped see to it that this school's no longer safe for us."

"Partially," Kagami-kun said. "They did play a role, but so did everyone who committed murder in order to graduate. I can understand why the blackened made the choices they did, but in the end, they're responsible for their own actions."

I remained silent, unsure of what to say to that. I couldn't deny what he was saying, or that I'd voted for all four of the blackened, but even if I couldn't forget what they done, I couldn't hate them, either.

"On a somewhat related subject," Kagami-kun said, "I do believe that the choice before us- between trying to leave or staying forever- is something only we can decide for ourselves. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if not all of us are honest about what we want."

"That may be so," I said, "but I believe that even the answer that they _profess_ can potentially say a great deal about them."

"Perhaps," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, it's anyone's guess what people will decide now that we've learned about the Tragedy, so we'll have to wait and see."

With our conversation concluded, I let him investigate the machine in more detail before moving on elsewhere.

* * *

I found a garden on the fifth floor, a set of planters and a chicken coop under a painted blue sky that was realistic enough to make me think we were outdoors. I looked inside the coop, and found a quintet of chickens, as well as Iwasawa-san.

"I thought I'd find you here, Iwasawa-san," I said. "You look like you're in your element."

"As much as I can be, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "Of course, I know this all is fake, so all it does is make me homesick."

I had to admit that I wanted to see my home and family again, but my desire was probably not nearly as keen as Iwasawa-san's. Even if I was far from my home, since I'd come from another prefecture, at least it didn't feel like I was in an entirely different era.

"I'm especially worried about my village," Iwasawa-san said. "They survived by staying isolated from the outside world and pretending that modern day society didn't concern them. Now, they're facing the same apocalypse that the rest of the world does, but without the same technology. How will we defend ourselves from aerial bombardments, tanks, or even soldiers with body armor and assault rifles? How can the town doctor treat a contagious disease that sweeps through our village?"

"I don't know," I said, "but maybe, if humanity's forced to get by without the technological advances of the last hundred years, your people might be better off if they've already learned to live without them. By comparison, I think the Ultimate Programmer would have quite a bit of trouble if there weren't any computers left for her to work with."

Iwasawa-san shrugged, and I wondered if she considered my comment shallow and poorly thought out.

"I don't know about that," Iwasawa-san said. "If anything, my village always existed on the assumption that our children and grandchildren would live in the same kind of village as our parents and grandparents. Very few people were willing to seriously consider our way of life being rendered obsolete, much less something like this happening."

"Well, society changes from generation to generation," I said. "Kids have all sorts of new technologies and scientific advances their parents never dreamed about, but on the other hand, they face new problems. That said, I don't think _anyone_ dreamed of anything like this taking place... except for Enoshima and the other lunatics who made it happen, of course."

"I'm sure they didn't," Iwasawa-san said. "As naïve as it might sound, I can actually sympathize with the desire to hold on to the status quo. Even apart from the sentimental value tradition holds, I think there's something to be said for wanting children to grow up in a similar world."

I imagined how my life might have turned out if it had gone according to my parents' (relatively realistic) expectations. After graduating from high school, I would have gotten into a good college, and after that, went on to a good company, working a job I wasn't particularly passionate about but which put food on the table. I wouldn't have been under any great pressure to get married or have children, although perhaps my parents might have... disapproved... if my spouse ended up being a woman, rather than a man. Writing would have been nothing more than a hobby, something I could only do when I had time. In most regards, my life, as well as my sister's, would have been similar to the ones my parents led, simply because they thought it was the best and safest path to earn a living.

Of course, while the realist in me understood why my parents felt that way, the idealist in me decided that I could envision the future I wanted, even if it wasn't likely to happen. I could imagine myself becoming a successful author, and with a wife (quite possibly Sae) that my parents considered to be as much their daughter as my sister and I were. It was far from feasible, but it wasn't impossible... or at least it hadn't been, before the killing game and Tragedy sent my life irrevocably off course.

"Well, why not want a better world?" I said. "I'm sure your parents, your grandparents and the other members of their generations have some things they don't like about their current world?"

"That's right," Iwasawa-san said. "Most of them are things that have changed, but there are some things they'd want to change. Of course, I'm not sure what they'd do to make their dreams reality, much less deal with something like this."

I had no answer to that, so the conversation soon ground to a halt. Having concluded our discussion and our investigation of the garden, Iwasawa-san and I parted ways for the moment.

* * *

I found Sae in the student council's room, transfixed by something.

"Hello, Kaori," Sae said, pointing at a portrait. "Does this look at all familiar?"

I was about to say "Not at all," since I hadn't set foot up here since the killing game had begun, but stopped in my tracks and nodded, knowing what Sae had meant.

The picture contained only five students rather than sixteen, and all of them were girls. We wore what looked like the summer uniform, which had short-sleeved shirts and sweater vests in lieu of long-sleeved shirts and blazers, although we were still expected to wear our skirts(or trousers, if we were boys) and neckties. Sae and I were on the picture, as well as Iwasawa-san, Katsura-san and Mitamura-san. There was an engraved plaque at the base of the picture frame

 _Talent High School Student Council_

 _Reiko Mitamura- President_

 _Kaori Miura- Vice President_

 _Momo Iwasawa- Secretary_

 _Komaki Katsura- Public Relations Representative_

 _Sae Edogawa- Treasurer_

It was an easy task to digitally manipulate a picture, but creating the frame and the engraving was a significant amount of effort for something that would only seem like a trivial piece of evidence. I also found a document on the table that had our signatures, and I recognized my own handwriting.

"So we were on the student council?" I said. "I can definitely imagine Mitamura-san serving, and to a lesser extent, Katsura-san. As for the rest, though, I think Iwasawa-san would probably have helped out if Mitamura-san asked her to, but I'm not so sure about us."

"Who knows?" Sae said. "Minds can change, and there may have been certain... incentives if we'd been reluctant. What seems most amazing to me is how a school this prestigious has such a small student council."

"I know what you mean," I said. "My old school was fairly respectable, enough so that you couldn't work for the student council unless you were serious. The administration didn't give the student council carte blanche privileges, but they considered the student council leaders of the student body, and expected them to take that role seriously."

"It was mostly the same at the school Inoue-kun and I used to attend," Sae said. "I was too busy writing to work for the student council and he said that learning new languages and keeping his skills sharp took up most of his free time."

Perhaps there were downsides to having a school full of Ultimates who, despite being the best in their fields, had already decided on their hobbies and careers. Ordinary students were mediocre by comparison, but could experiment and try new things in high school, perhaps even discovering they were somewhat good at them in the process. In that sense, maybe the Ultimates missed out on the chance to discover themselves.

"So in other words, you're saying that the student council here isn't all that impressive," I said.

"More or less," Sae said, "but you should probably take it with a grain of salt considering I don't remember anything about serving on it."

"I know," I said, "but it does remind me about something Iwasawa-san once told me. She suggested that the 'weakness' motive was intended to ruin Mitamura-san's reputation and/or drive her to murder, thereby disgracing the most respectable of us."

"That's possible," Sae said. "I've heard various reports that Hope's Peak's Reserve Course students, who paid large sums of money for a second-rate education, resented the Main Course students, who got in on the basis of talent, without having to pay a yen, so it's likely that the same went for our school's Reserve Course. After all,the e-book we received mentioned that Hope's Peak's Student Council was massacred, didn't it?"

"It did," I said. "Maybe one of us is a Reserve Course student who's pretending to have a talent."

I thought for a moment on who could fit that description. Sae and Tezuka-kun had published their works and become somewhat famous, so they were unlikely to be the culprits, unless they'd somehow impersonated the real people. It was possible that Inoue-kun had faked his mastery of languages, since it would be difficult for us to challenge him. Iwasawa-san's farming village was well-known, but I had to wonder if her character was a carefully crafted persona. The most obvious suspects were Kagami-kun, whose talent was unknown, and Sugiura-san, whom I hadn't heard of before, but I couldn't rule anyone out. In fact, if anyone else judged people by these criteria, I'd be the most suspicious.

"Who knows?" Sae said. "I honestly can't fathom what would motivate someone to put us through all this."

"Neither can I, Sae," I said.

I left to investigate the rest of the floor, more confused than ever. The more I learned about the school, the more keenly aware I became of what I didn't know, with each answered question inviting more questions. I'd probably find the truth if I lived long enough, but would I be able to bear hearing it?

* * *

I found Kagami-kun again outside a somewhat fancy door, apparently leading to the headmistress' office.

"Hello again, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "I'm starting to see the same faces around here."

"That's only natural, Kagami-kun," I said. "There's fewer of us now, so it's taking more time to cover the same space."

I had to wonder if, back when fourteen of us explored the second floor, some of us simply stayed in one place, whether to focus on a specific find or because they were willing to leave the work to others. In any case, though, I'd always set out to explore all of the new floors back when there were many of us, so I wasn't about to slack off now that so few of us were left.

"So this is the headmistress's office," I said. "I remember meeting with her, but I don't think she ever let me into her office."

"Well, we won't be getting in now," Kagami-kun said. "It's locked, after all."

I tried the knob, but, just as Kagami-kun said, it clicked and refused to open.

"That's a shame," I said. "I wonder if anyone around here knows how to pick locks?"

"Not so fast, Miura-san!" Monokuma said, popping up once again. "No fair getting into the doors that you're not supposed to!"

I checked my handbook and saw a new rule- "Unlocking a door without possession of the key is forbidden." While I was looking at the rule, Monokuma left.

"Monokuma certainly works fast," Kagami-kun said. "Anyway, Miura-san, why're you so interested in getting inside the headmistress' office?"

"I was hoping to learn more about the woman who ran this school," I said. "I wonder why she- or rather, her predecessor- would open a school that gives free admission to talented children, one that would compete with Hope's Peak. Besides, if someone took over her school and used it for a killing game, I can't foresee her letting it happen without being a willing accomplice... if she's still alive, that is."

"I can't say why the headmistress would do such a thing," Kagami-kun said, "but I doubt the school is truly for altruistic purposes. Have you ever heard the story of 'stone soup'?"

"Let me see if I've got this right," I said. "A soldier- or a traveler of some kind- comes to a village and asks its residents for food, only to find they have none to share. He then gets a pot and a stone, claiming to be making 'stone soup' and asks the villagers to add what they can. Everyone gives a little and together, they make a meal for the entire village."

" _And_ the soldier," Kagami-kun said. "The villagers wouldn't just give some stranger their food out of the goodness of their heart, but because they thought they'd get a meal out of it. He recognized that and decided to ask them to contribute to his soup, thereby giving him a meal without having to contribute anything besides the pot and the stone."

I'd always thought of the story as one stressing the value of sharing, but Kagami-kun's interpretation was a valid one. Dad had a similar idea about business, and Katsura-san probably would have said something similar if she were still alive. Hoping to turn a profit out of an enterprise didn't necessarily make you a bad person, since everyone needed to earn a living, but I had to wonder how benevolent Talent High School really was.

"That's a fair interpretation," I said, "but what are you getting at?"

"Why I got into this school," Kagami-kun said. "Whatever my talent was, it must have been one that would have benefited them in some way, or else they wouldn't have just let me in. Think about it- schools give out scholarships to honor students or star athletes, who'd bolster their reputation by being there, while everyone else has to pay tuition and pass the entrance exams. The bar's higher for some places than for others, but having to jump over it's a constant."

"That's true," I said, "but I suppose it's only fair to have to prove that you deserve to be at the school. Dad sees having a job as a privilege, as well as a great responsibility, so perhaps it's worth teaching that lesson early on in life."

"I can't argue with that," Kagami-kun said, "but it does make me wonder what kind of school I ended up in. I'd wish I never gotten into Talent High School, but..."

"But?" I said.

Kagami-kun shook his head, as if he'd said more than he'd meant to. While he was one of the more mysterious students, at least among those who'd survived this long, he wasn't usually this talkative.

"Sorry, forget I said anything," Kagami-kun said. "I guess we all must be regretting getting into this school, but there's no point in dwelling on what might have been."

"I'm not so sure," I said. "More than half of us are dead by now, but if the sixteen of us hadn't been able to take shelter here, would _any_ of us still be alive?"

"Probably not," Kagami-kun said. "Still, the decision on whether to stay or leave definitely won't be easy- not that Monokuma's willing to let us take the latter choice."

I sighed.

"I know," I said. "Still, all this time, we've assumed that leaving the school would be the best option- to escape from the danger and possibly return to our old lives. But considering that it's also dangerous outside, and we may no longer have anything to return to, I have to ask- do we still want to leave?"

Kagami-kun remained silent. He clearly understood that I didn't think there was a right answer to this question, not when I was still wrestling with it myself.

"I'll think about that," Kagami-kun said, before I left him to continue my investigation.

* * *

Near the headmistress' office, there was a room labeled "Data Center." I tried the doorknob, only to find that it was locked. As disappointing as the realization was, it wasn't surprising. Getting in was a tempting process, but I didn't want to risk Monokuma's wrath by trying to pick the lock (not that I knew how).

Tezuka-kun walked up as I stepped back from the door.

"No dice?" Tezuka-kun said, without preamble.

"It seems that way," I said. "Did you try it yourself?"

Tezuka-kun shook his head.

"Not yet," Tezuka-kun said. "I did try to open up the headmistress' office, but it was locked, too. I guess it's a little too obvious, isn't it?"

"For the mastermind to take the headmistress' office as their personal headquarters?" I said. "I get where you're coming from."

"When I was really little," Tezuka-kun said, "and I'm talking first half of elementary school little, I imagined taking over the principal's office and running my elementary school. If the mastermind, for whatever reason, decided to take control of the school, I guess they'd have an idea like that."

Even without considering what had happened to the world outside, I'd long assumed that if the staff and administration of Talent High School weren't involved in this killing game, they were most likely dead, having been killed when Monokuma and the mastermind took control of our school.

"I have a question for you, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Do you think I might be that person?"

Tezuka-kun shrugged.

"Hell if I know," Tezuka-kun said. "It could be anyone, after all- well, anyone among those of us who're still alive, that is."

"A number that's shrunk substantially over the past few weeks," I said. "I didn't even know to begin back when there were fifteen possible suspects, but now that we're down to six... that's another story."

Tezuka-kun shook his head, knowing all too well where I was going with it.

"Take this with a grain of salt since I'm pretty shitty at probability," Tezuka-kun said, "but I think going after the mastermind's a sucker's bet. It's kind of like the lottery- just like anyone can shell out a couple hundred yen for a ticket, in here, anyone can take a shot at finding the mastermind by finding a suspicious person and, whack, stab, shoot or poison 'em. If they're wrong, someone who didn't do anything wrong dies, they get executed and the killing game goes on. If they're right, I guess they 'won' the killing game."

While the odds of winning the lottery were an order of magnitude steeper than killing the mastermind, I couldn't contest Tezuka-kun's logic.

"Or maybe it's like the Life-Threatening Game at the end of FDR:VR," I said. "Assuming you're not the mastermind, it's a five out of six chance of failure, and if you lose... you and an innocent person die."

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I'm sure everyone else here would probably tell you not to take the risk, just because we're all sick of people dying."

"I know," I said. "I'm sure the mastermind feels otherwise... but they have other means of encouraging murder."

"Right," Tezuka-kun said. "Well, maybe we'll think of something before the next time."

Tezuka-kun didn't really believe what he was saying, and neither did I. Perhaps the mastermind had been going through the motions, acting like a good classmate all this time, while secretly enjoying our suffering. Whoever they were, they were a shrewd liar, and it would be difficult to unmask them.

* * *

I looked throughout the rest of the floor and couldn't find any other stairs up or exits. Eventually, however, I ran into Sugiura-san.

"Oh, hello, Sugiura-san," I said. "I don't suppose you've found anything that looks like stairs up, either?"

"Of course not," Sugiura-san said. "This is the top floor, isn't it?"

"It is," I said, "assuming you don't count the roof."

"Oh, right," Sugiura-san said. "Maybe they walled off the stairs, since I saw a wall that looked new. In any case, like Tezuka said earlier, it's not as though we'd be allowed up on the roof even if this was a regular school... or the world hadn't ended."

I nodded gravely. Graduation was obviously terrifying for the spotless, who'd likely be condemned to a gruesome and painful demise, but what about the blackened? While Monokuma definitely wanted to give us incentives to kill each other, he had no love for any of us, so it was only natural that he'd want the successful graduate to suffer despair, too.

"To think that a world in ruins would be waiting for anyone 'lucky' enough to graduate," I said. "Only Monokuma could think of such a twisted joke to play on us."

"Or the mastermind," Sugiura-san said, "not that I can fathom why they'd do this."

"Neither can I," I said. "Of course, it's most likely that they planned this before the school was sealed, and still have their memories."

"That's obvious enough," Sugiura-san said, "although no one would be willing to admit it. But who's more suspicious than the guy who 'conveniently' can't remember his talent?"

I shrugged. While Sugiura-san had a potentially viable theory, albeit one unsubstantiated by any evidence, I remembered Kagami-kun's theories that he'd been brought into the school mid-year. Perhaps the mastermind had erased enough of his memories that he didn't remember having a talent, or Kagami-kun's talent posed a threat to the mastermind. There were other possibilities for the gap in Kagami-kun's memory, even if the person forwarding the theory hadn't been my other major suspect for the mastermind.

"I'm honestly not sure," I said. "It's possible that they changed somehow during our time at the school. I can't rule any of you out."

"Fair enough," Sugiura-san said. "We've spent long enough here and lost too many people to prematurely conclude that anyone isn't the mastermind. Both Mitamura the goody-two-shoes and Hoshino the asshole ended up committing murder- and thus couldn't be the mastermind- so maybe the mastermind's between those extremes, someone who isn't too popular but isn't hated, either."

I paused, thinking carefully. From Sugiura-san's perspective, I was probably a "goody-two-shoes," while she was... on the other end of the spectrum, so she probably didn't consider either of us suspicious. Still, something didn't sit well with me.

"Possibly," I said, "but Sakuragi-kun and Fukuda-kun didn't really stand out, and they ended up becoming the blackened for various reasons. People's personalities aren't the only factor."

"I guess," Sugiura-san said. "I never talked with them much- hell, Sakuragi bit it on the third night- so I'll take your word for it. Honestly, even if I think Kagami's suspicious, I'd give him at most, 30 percent chance of being mastermind- not enough to bet my life on, much less kill someone over."

I shook my head. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the plan to killing the mastermind, apart from finding the person in question, was actually doing the deed. Even after all the horrors we'd seen, we still knew murder was a terrible thing, even when it didn't happen to someone close to us and not just because all our lives were at stake in a class trial. As much as I wanted to end the killing, the last thing I wanted was to further it.

* * *

My last stop on the fifth floor was a strange room that was labeled the "bio lab." It was unusually cold compared to the rest of the school, and I could see why- there were sixteen large freezers with numbers and lights- and nine of those lights were on.

On a whim, I opened one of the ones with a light on, pulling out the slab from the wall... and immediately regretted it. As the door slid open, I saw Kurogane-kun's corpse, frozen and preserved. Immediately after recognizing it, I quickly slammed the freezer shut, and hunched over, nauseous. Taking a quick look in the other eight, I found that each contained a classmate's remains, some of which I could identify by a mere glance. As far as I knew, every single person who'd died in the killing game was interred in here, so it wasn't possible for any of the dead students to be running the killing game from hiding, like Enoshima had.

Once I was done, I barely made it to the girls' bathroom next door before vomiting into the toilet. Moments later, I noticed Iwasawa-san, who'd clearly witnessed the entire thing.

"Are you feeling all right, Miss Miura?" Iwasawa-san said.

"I've been better," I said, "but I've found something _very_ important. I believe the room next door contains the dead bodies of everyone who died in the killing game."

"Are you certain?" Iwasawa-san said. "What if someone's body is fake?"

I had to admit that was a possibility. Sakuragi-kun, Mitamura-san and Fukuda-kun had been crushed, and Hoshino-kun had been burned alive, so one could potentially swap out any seemingly identical corpse for theirs- there certainly was no shortage of dead bodies after the Tragedy. Of course, while it was possible, I didn't think it was true.

"That's possible," I said. "Of course, we did see the blackened die, and investigated each of the victims' corpses, confirming their deaths. I don't think the mastermind could have substituted a body double in those cases."

"True," Iwasawa-san said. "What do you believe this means?"

"It's simple," I said. "The mastermind not only is still alive, but is one of the seven remaining students. Perhaps we knew this already, but we can actually prove it this time."

After my stomach calmed down a bit, I flushed the toilet, then washed my hands and face, grateful that we still had clean water inside this school. I'd gotten a little vomit on my blazer and skirt, so I wiped off what I could and made a note to wash them as soon as I could.

Of course, I then remembered something- I'd neglected to do the laundry for several days, ever since Monokuma had introduced the last motive. I had greater worries than not having clean clothes, but at the moment, this was the only one I could do anything about. I could think of a certain person who had clothing that definitely wasn't too small for me and who wasn't averse to loaning it... and that person was standing in front of me right now.

"I have a favor I'd like to ask of you, Iwasawa-san," I said. "Would you mind lending me a pair of your overalls while I do the laundry?"

Iwasawa-san nodded. Judging from her expression and my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I'd be lucky if I could salvage this uniform.

"Certainly, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "We can stop by my room before lunch."

We quickly left the bathroom and headed downstairs.

* * *

Once we were back in the dorms, Iwasawa-san let me into her room and gave me a pair of overalls, letting me use her bathroom to change. I put them on after removing my blazer, skirt and necktie, then went back to my room, retrieved the rest of my laundry and put it in the washing machine. Since it was almost lunch, I decided to leave it for now and come back for it once we were done. A long time ago, I might have worried about a pervert stealing my underwear, but not only did I have more important things to worry about, I trusted those of us who were left not to steal my clothes.

"So, Miss Miura, how do they fit?" Iwasawa-san said, having followed me to the laundry room.

"Fairly well, thank you," I said. "Of course, considering how much taller you are than me, I thought these would be too large for me."

"They _used to be_ ," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura gave me some advice on how to do my laundry shortly before we got the first 'motive.' Unfortunately, she'd never washed denim before, so the pair you're wearing shrunk in the wash. I only found this out after I'd followed her advice."

That wasn't all too surprising to hear. Perhaps if Mitamura-san's family as strict as I'd imagined, she probably wasn't allowed to wear casual clothes, even around her house. As such, she most likely didn't own or know how to wash a pair of jeans. Of course, while putting the now-shrunken overalls on, I noticed a tag with washing instructions, which Mitamura-san probably should have read.

"Miss Mitamura apologized profusely, and I forgave her," Iwasawa-san said. "In hindsight, though, I think this was a small clue that she didn't have all the answers, even if I didn't recognize at the time, and only remembered it just now. That's why I don't have any idea what she would have done if she'd lived long enough to find herself in this situation."

"Neither do I," I said. "Mitamura-san's entire life revolved around getting a good education and cultivating a good reputation, both critical qualities for the job market. She was driven to commit murder to protect her reputation, so knowing that her entire life had been in vain would quite possibly have broken her."

Iwasawa-san nodded solemnly.

"I _know_ it would have," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm still grateful for all she's done for me, but I believe it's up to me- to all of us- to find our own answers to this question, which is why I'm glad you asked us to do that. Maybe Miss Mitamura would feel the same way if she'd lived this long."

"That's possible," I said. "If nothing else, I'm asking you to think for yourselves because I don't know the answer."

"So you're in the same boat as us," Iwasawa-san said. "I actually think that's a good thing, since you have some idea of what we're going through, and how hard it is to find the right answer. I don't expect you to tell us what to do, but I'm sure that you'll be able to figure something out."

"I'll do my best," I said.

Iwasawa-san smiled faintly. A part of me wondered if I was making an empty promise, and another wondered if this was too little to offer, but it seemed neither was the case.

"That's all I hope for," Iwasawa-san said. "Monokuma set the game up to discourage cooperation and even peaceful coexistence, so it's hardly any surprise that several murders have occurred despite our best efforts to stop them. But even if people continue to die in the future, please don't give up- even the idea that someone's trying to get us to stick together gives me hope."

I nodded Iwasawa-san, thanking her for her encouragement and her clothes. As bleak as the situation seemed, rolling over and dying was never an option. Perhaps if we all engaged in a mutual suicide pact, possibly by refusing to vote in the next class trial, we'd stop the killing game in its tracks, but we'd also prove that despair had triumphed over hope. Life was still worth living, even if we'd lost everyone and everything we cared about outside this school, so my goal remained the same- keep as many people alive as I could.

* * *

At lunch, we held another meeting in the dining hall to discuss our findings. Most of us had seen the same things as I had, so nobody else's findings were news to me.

"In short, as you've probably noticed, we can't get into the headmistress' room or the data center," I said, "despite- or _because_ \- those rooms are probably the most important ones in the school. Considering that Monokuma has made a rule against unlocking doors without a key, please do not try to pick the locks."

"So that's the bad news," Sugiura-san said. "What's the good news?"

"We've learned some potentially interesting tidbits," I said. "First is the bio lab, which contains the remains of all nine dead students. I... confirmed that myself, which is why I had to borrow some clothing. Thank you again, Iwasawa-san."

As I turned to Iwasawa-san and bowed gratefully, she smiled and said, "You're welcome, Miss Miura."

"There's a second discovery," I said. "I found that while we were at Talent High School, Mitamura-san, Katsura-san, Iwasawa-san, Sae and I served together on the student council."

"What do you suppose that means?" Kagami-kun said. "Apart from you all being girls, I can't think of anything you have in common. Mitamura-san committed murder, and Katsura-san almost killed you, but I can't see you, Edogawa-san or Iwasawa-san doing the same."

"I wondered the same thing Kagami-kun," I said. "Iwasawa-san, do you remember the time you suggested the mastermind might have hoped to pressure Mitamura-san into committing murder?"

Iwasawa-san nodded hesitantly, probably a bit nervous about being put on the spot in front of everyone like that.

"I did, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "It was only a theory, wishful thinking from someone who looked up to Miss Mitamura."

"Maybe," I said, "but considering that Monokuma also put Katsura-san under great pressure, maybe it wasn't an accident. Maybe the mastermind not only wants the student council members, the most respected figures in this school, dead, but also wants them to commit murder and disgrace themselves before they do."

"Eh, the student council isn't all that it's cracked up to be," Tezuka-kun said. "The only people who served on my school's student council were guys who wanted to pad their resumes. Maybe the mastermind hates that kind of student?"

"That's a fairly petty motive for murder, Tezuka-kun," I said, "although the mastermind definitely isn't a good person, so I don't imagine that they _wouldn't_ be motivated by that."

We then let the topic drop. It was as much of a theory as Iwasawa-san's suggestion was, so I'd have to wait until I had more proof.

"By the way," I said, "I'd like to hold a memorial service for Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun. Like the last one, it will be in the auditorium, at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning... assuming that's all right with everyone, and Tezuka-kun is able to get the portraits ready in time."

"One step ahead of you, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "I started working on Katsura and Fukuda's portraits after the trial let out, and finished with them before bedtime last night."

"Good," I said. "Is everyone else fine with that?"

Everyone else said "Aye."

"Then it's settled," I said. "I hope to see you all tomorrow morning."

We finished eating lunch soon enough. By now, we'd long since gotten used to the routine for the day after a trial, a somewhat depressing notion. By the same logic, it would only be a matter of time before we lost the next two or more students... unless we did something about it.

* * *

After lunch ended, I put my clothes in the dryer, at which point Sae stopped by, with some laundry of her own.

"Hello, Kaori," Sae said. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Better, thank you," I said. "I won't forget what I saw any time soon, but I'm sure I'll keep my lunch down."

"That's good," Sae said. "I like your new look, though. You could pass for Iwasawa-san's younger sister."

"Not many sisters have different last names unless one of them is married," I said. "Oh, wait, we've got Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba."

Sae and I shared a laugh, amused at the idea of anyone wanting to marry one of the two young women that the unabridged version of the e-book termed the "Despair Sisters". As we did, Inoue-kun came in with a load of laundry.

"Sorry, am I interrupting anything?" Inoue-kun said he loaded his clothes into one of the washers.

"Not at all," Sae said. "In fact, I was hoping you'd stop by."

"I'm all ears," Inoue-kun said.

I was about to leave, since this was probably meant to be a private discussion and my clothes wouldn't be done for a while, but Sae turned to me. At that point, I realized that she wanted me around- so that she wouldn't back down. I gave her a reassuring nod, and she turned back to Inoue-kun.

"It's a small but somewhat audacious request," Sae said. "May I call you 'Shinichi-kun'?"

"Of course," Inoue-kun said. "Yuuki-san used to call me that all the time, after all."

"Thank you, Shinichi-kun," Sae said. "You can call me 'Sae' if you want, too."

"Certainly, Sae," Inoue-kun said, "as long as it's fine with you."

Sae nodded. While it was nice that she'd taken advantage of her second chance to become friends with Inoue-kun despite being distant from him at their old school, she didn't seem completely happy.

"It is," Sae said. "To be honest, though, I thought you'd be a little more hesitant."

"If you'd asked Mitamura-san, it might be another story," Inoue-kun said, "but I'm used to calling my friends by their first names, so I don't really think anything of it."

"Ah," Sae said. "Well, you're the first person I've done this with apart from Kaori, so I was hoping that asking you would be a bigger step. But who knows? I might try a third person sooner or later."

I smiled. Perhaps I wouldn't always be this special to Sae, but I was glad that I'd served as the catalyst to get her out of her shell. Because of that, I could be content if we ended up going our separate ways... as much as the prospect made me sad.

* * *

After my clothes were done drying, I returned them to my room and changed back into my uniform. After doing so, I spotted Kagami-kun. We had a conversation out in the hall, since he apparently wasn't concerned about being caught on camera.

"So, Kagami-kun," I said, "do you have any ideas who might be the mastermind?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's Sugiura-san," Kagami-kun said. "I'm not entirely positive, but if she's the mastermind, it adds up perfectly."

"How so?" I said.

"Think about it," Kagami-kun said. "She's a fairly good actress, so she'd be able to deceive us into thinking that we were her friends, just like she put on a polite front until midway through the second trial. Our memories were lost, along with any indication that she was the Ultimate Poisoner. Perhaps she wanted revenge against Talent High School for branding her with that title."

"That's an interesting theory," I said, "but why would she let us find out? It got released in Monokuma's 'weakness' motive."

"Who knows?" Kagami-kun said. "Maybe she was trying to deflect suspicion from herself, or maybe Monokuma betrayed her. Not even the mastermind can escape here without graduating"

"That's certainly possible," I said, "but do you have any proof of this?"

Kagami-kun shook his head, which was hardly surprising. If he knew and could prove the mastermind's identity, clearly he'd be doing more than swapping theories with me about it.

"Unfortunately, no," Kagami-kun said. "Still, don't let your guard down- one of your friends has already betrayed you."

Kagami-kun left me with those words. From Sugiura-san's perspective, he, a person who didn't really consider himself part of the group even if he didn't hate us, probably seemed like the prime suspect for the mastermind, just like Sugiura-san, someone with the means and a motive for deceiving us and starting the killing game, did. Which, if either, of them was right? To do that, I would need evidence, rather than the opinions of those who were my primary suspects.

* * *

While in the dorms, I visited the warehouse and took inventory of the more high-tech supplies, only to find that I couldn't find any working technology that was more advanced than a scientific calculator, much less anything that fit my purposes. There were no cameras available (save for the single-use one installed on our handbooks), nor were there any sorts of infrared sensors or anything that could be used to set a trap for the mastermind. Even if there were, the fact that the mastermind apparently didn't need to go into the forbidden areas of the school meant that we couldn't necessarily use that as a trap for them.

I gritted my teeth in frustration, since the only two options at present required us to find the mastermind. If we wanted to stay, we'd have to identify the mastermind and somehow disable Monokuma to prevent him from giving us incentives to kill people. If we wanted to leave, we'd have to force the mastermind to let us out... or perhaps kill them, since they'd never let us leave under any circumstances besides a successful graduation. No matter what we chose to do, we would be in danger as long as the mastermind controlled Monokuma, and with him, the entire school.

* * *

After dinner, I washed the dishes along with Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san. There were times when I was a bit surprised that the latter was able to reach the counter, considering that she was by far the shortest of us.

"I'm done washing my clothes, Iwasawa-san," I said, "and I think I managed to avoid having too bad of a stain on them. I can return your overalls whenever you'd like."

"Please keep them, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "I don't need them anymore, and I think they suit you fairly well."

"Thank you," I said. "Sae joked that I could pass as your little sister."

"I imagine," Iwasawa-san said, "but even if we're the same age, you seem like the responsible big sister."

I giggled softly. While Iwasawa-san's faith in Mitamura-san had been misplaced, she still needed guidance. Rather than tell her what to do, I hoped to set a good example so she could learn from me.

"Anyway, I'm grateful for the gift of clothing, and sorry I can't return the favor," I said. "I'm sure you'd like to borrow some nicer clothing, if I had any that fit you, right?"

Iwasawa-san nodded and Sugiura-san chuckled bitterly. Now that I saw her together with Iwasawa-san, it was obvious how different their body sizes were.

"You're luckier than most of us," Sugiura-san said. "I'm much shorter than my brothers were when they were my age, so even if I was a boy, I wouldn't be able to wear their clothes."

"Some people would count themselves lucky," I said, "if they didn't have to wear hand-me-downs. I basically wore most of the same clothes as my older sister. I didn't mind it, but some of my classmates felt bad for me."

"I see," Sugiura-san said. "What's your older sister like?"

"She's a nice girl," I said, "one who's willing to give me a lot of advice so I have an easier time than she did, two years in the past. What about you?"

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"I'm an only child," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Sugiura?"

Sugiura-san sighed and shrugged.

"The younger of my two brothers is six years older than me," Sugiura-san said, "and the older one is _twelve years_ older- he's practically more like my dad or my uncle than my brother. I'm not all that close to either of them, and not _just_ because of the age gap."

It wasn't hard to see why. In my sister's case, we went to school together from when I was in first grade until I completed fourth grade, as well as when I was in seventh and tenth grade, and we might have been able to go to the same college. In Sugiura-san's case, by the time she started first grade, one of her brothers was in middle school, while the other had probably started college (assuming he actually attended).

"Then again," Sugiura-san said, "while they might not be the best brothers, they are _my_ brothers. They've been with me all my life, taught me how to cook, and would be heartbroken if anything happened to me. I don't know what's become of them, but if I ever get out of here, I will find them."

We silently concurred, before continuing with the dishes. Despite Kagami-kun's suggestion, a part of me doubted that Sugiura-san was the mastermind, even if I couldn't rule her out just yet. Perhaps her entire life story was an elaborate lie, but I suspected that if she'd lied, she'd have given a more flowery and saccharine description of her love for her family, rather than a blunt and cynical but not entirely unsentimental answer.

One of the other six survivors had deceived us all along, but who? I had to find the answer, even if I knew I wouldn't like it.

* * *

Some time later, I returned to my room and locked my door behind me. I took the chocolate bar Sae had gotten me out of my pocket and put it aside for later, knowing that while my room was warm enough to be comfortable, it wasn't hot enough to melt the chocolate. I then got undressed and took a shower, with the warm, clean water washing my body clean. After putting my tracksuit on and hearing Monokuma's Night Time announcement, I turned out the lights and climbed into bed, which was comfortable enough even if I didn't fall asleep immediately. Even though my life had been in danger since arriving in this school, I'd taken all this- food, water, shelter and all the other necessities- for granted, but I had to wonder- how many people outside had to do without what we had?

For a moment, I wondered if we could live in here permanently. We had everything we needed in here, and every hour we spent trying to find a way out or even trying to find the blackened was an hour we hadn't had to spend scavenging for necessities. I got along well with most of my other students, especially Sae. If Sae considered me more than a friend, we could potentially live as a couple, and I doubted any of the others would object too strongly.

On the other hand, I knew that while the outside was dangerous, we needed to escape. We were under Monokuma's thumb as long as we were in here, and our killing game served to spread despair to the masses. Our loved ones were probably out there somewhere, and if we could find them, then that's what we would do. If there were people out there working to rebuild society, we owed it to them to chip in however we could. It wouldn't be easy, but it would be the right decision, which is why I hoped the others would stand with me.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Man, it feels like it's been a really long time since the last one, don't you think?_

 _I bet you bastards are just giddy with anticipation over seeing another Monokuma Theater, and don't care what's in it, do you?_

 _If so, that's great!_

 _A lot of people who churn out creative works would be thrilled to have unthinking audiences like you._

 _See you next time, then!_

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the follows.

It can be fairly difficult for Danganronpa protagonists to subvert the killing game until the final trial, which is why it's somewhat amazing that Sakura and Kyouko helped derail the killing game starting in Chapter 4 of the first game.

If the cast were speaking Japanese, Mitamura would exclusively use keigo, as well as the highly formal "watakushi" pronoun (by comparison, Miura would use "watashi" in most situations, as well as relatively casual speech with her friends). To emulate that style of speech, I had her eschew using contractions.

Part of the reason why I decided to have the cast learn about the state of the outside world at this point was to see what would happen if they had time to digest it. There's still more secrets to uncover, which will be touched upon in Chapter 6.

The next few chapters are coming along quite well, since I had time to work on them over the holidays. Next up is another memorial service for those who have died, followed by the group making a decision. It will probably be fairly short, since this is likely to be the last very long chapter.

The omake is a past event that's related Iwasawa's character development in this chapter.

* * *

 **Omake**

 _Iwasawa's POV_

While I was still a student at Talent High School, I was working on my homework one night in the middle of April when I heard a knock on the door to my dorm room.

"This is Mitamura. May I please come in, Iwasawa-san?"

"Certainly, Mitamura-san," I said. "Let me get the door."

I opened the door, and found Mitamura-san standing outside, holding a basket with my name on it that contained my laundry.

"I noticed that your laundry is finished," Mitamura-san said, "so I took the liberty of returning it to you."

Mitamura-san handed me the basket, and I accepted it with a "Thank you." Mitamura-san responded with an earnest and polite "You're welcome," but her expression was somewhat stern.

"However," Mitamura-san said, "I did notice that you left your clothes in the dryer long after they were done, and would like to break you of that habit for two reasons. First, it is inconsiderate to those who may wish to use the machines after you."

"I'm sorry," I said, bowing in apology after setting down the clothes basket. "I didn't think it would be done so quickly, since I usually hang my clothes out to dry. I'll be more careful next time."

Mitamura-san silently nodded, accepting my apology while also making it clear she hoped it wouldn't happen again. More to the point, she was only half done with her lecture.

"And second," Mitamura-san said, "there are certain perverted individuals who enjoy collecting women's underwear. I cannot fathom what would possess them to do such a thing, but you must always be on your guard."

To be honest, the possibility hadn't dawned on me. Stealing and other crimes happened in my village, but if the culprits were caught, they quickly got ostracized, since everyone knew everyone. Besides, stealing someone's produce, tools or money was one thing, but stealing their laundry was another.

"I will," I said. "Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me, Mitamura-san."

"You are most welcome," Mitamura-san said. "Please remember this, though- not everyone is kind or trustworthy enough to inform you when you make a mistake, and people may instead choose to take advantage of your naivete and inexperience. Therefore, it would behoove you to learn as much as you can, so you can make your own decisions."

I nodded appreciatively and said goodbye to Mitamura-san as she left, presumably to see to her own laundry. Mitamura-san was my strict yet kind mentor and guide, but she knew she didn't have all the answers to the questions, and even if she did, I couldn't rely on her forever. For now, I hoped she could tell me whenever I went wrong so I could learn from my mistakes, and one day stand on my own.


	23. Chapter V, Part 2

_Day 23_

I woke up early once again, even though I barely felt like getting out of bed. As far as I know, I wasn't sick- just tired of everything that had happened these past weeks.

As I got dressed, I checked to make sure I was presentable for the memorial service. While it had only been just over three weeks since we'd found ourselves in the school, I had to wonder how long our clothes would last. Of course, considering how things progressed, I doubted the killing game would last another two weeks before our 'winning streak' in the class trials was broken, or we were down to two or three survivors.

I found Inoue-kun sitting alone in the dining hall, while Iwasawa-san worked on breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Inoue-kun," I said.

"Good morning, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "How are you holding up?"

I sighed and shook my head helplessly.

"Not well, to be honest," I said. "I'm facing the most difficult decision of my life yet, and this is even after four trials in which we've had to execute classmates in order for the spotless to live."

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "I've noticed that getting us to kill each other is only a means to an end- namely, the despair that we all feel knowing that we're losing friends with nothing to show for it."

We sat in silence for a few moments. Inoue-kun's point had to be said, but there was little more depressing than spelling out the most uncomfortable truth we'd come to accept in our time here.

"On the other hand," Inoue-kun said, "I honestly didn't think I'd last this long- or that this many of us would be left by now."

"This _many_?" I said.

"That's right," Inoue-kun said. "There was a time when I thought the first murderer would successfully graduate and doom the rest of us. Now, I realize every day is a blessing, and I'm thankful for it, even if I can't do much in this school."

When I'd first heard about the killing game, I'd been certain that I'd end up as a casualty sooner or later. I still felt scared, especially now that I didn't know what would happen if we managed to escape, but as long as I stayed focused on what I needed to accomplish, I could keep moving forward. It seemed as though Inoue-kun had come to a similar epiphany, and I was happy for him.

"That's a good perspective," I said. "Do you intend to stay in here?"

"Not at all," Inoue-kun said. "We may have no way of knowing what awaits us out there, but we know all too well what we've suffered these past three weeks in here. Perhaps we'll regret it if we leave, but I don't see how staying in here is possibly a good idea."

"I don't, either," I said. "Of course, there's two problems- getting out of here and what we'll do once we're out of here."

Inoue-kun silently concurred, not having any more of an idea of what the answer was than I did. In the beginning, we'd assumed that we'd just go back to school like normal. Missing a few weeks of class would have been a significant setback, but not an insurmountable one, and in hindsight, I'd have counted myself lucky if that was all I'd had to deal with. Of course, the longer I stayed in here, the more I realized that we couldn't simply pick up where we'd left off, and the lives we'd lead would probably be very different from those our parents led.

* * *

At 8:30 AM, we held the memorial service. Once again, we assembled in the front row of an auditorium that was far too large for our diminished ranks, and Tezuka-kun brought the portraits of our most recently deceased classmates. I walked up to the podium and surveyed the other six attendees. Since I didn't want to do both eulogies, I decided to find a volunteer for the first one.

"First up is Katsura-san," I said. "Sae, I think you said you knew Katsura-san, didn't you?"

Sae nodded, then stepped up. Perhaps the most accurate answer would be "Not as well as Akasaka-san did," but since Akasaka-san had also died, Sae had to do what she could in her place.

"Thank you," Sae said. "Katsura-san always believed that reputation was important in her line of work, as was the ability to sum yourself up in a concise manner. From what I understood, Katsura-san was a loving older sister and a good friend, as well as a promising young businesswoman. She was forced into an impossible choice, but had enough of a conscience not to give in and commit murder, even if she... perished due to circumstances beyond her control. In short, she was a promising young lady who deserved better."

Sae teared up a bit before excusing herself.

"Next up is Fukuda-kun," I said. "Did anyone know him particularly well?'

My question was answered with silence. It wasn't too surprising, since the two students most likely to share his interests in physical activity- Yuuki-san and Sakuragi-kun- as well as the two who had many siblings- Akasaka-san and Katsura-san- were already dead.

"Then I'll speak on his behalf," I said. "His last requestwas for us to tell the truth about him, and so I shall. He was a kind-hearted boy who always thought of others, even after he was thrust into an unenviable situations. He made mistakes, as we all have, but didn't deserve to die for them. At the very least, we can only hope that no harm came to his siblings or parents, and that they eventually realize that he died thinking of them."

I held another moment of silence, and after it ended the memorial concluded. Sae, however, stayed behind and talked to me.

"Is it just me, or was the memorial service... missing something?" Sae said.

"Probably," I said. "For most of the people who'd died, we could find at least a few people who were close to them, but Akasaka-san wasn't able to give a eulogy for Katsura-san, and Fukuda-kun didn't have any close friends. I feel it's somewhat better if people who are closest to the dead said something."

Sae nodded.

"I agree," Sae said. "In fact, I feel as though that task would be best entrusted to someone who knew the deceased all their lives, like their parents. The families of the dead should have the chance to mourn their lost loved ones."

"Perhaps we could hold one once we get out of here," I said, "assuming we're able to track down everyone in question, of course. I'd like to meet everyone's families... including your father, of course."

Sae softly chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Kaori," Sae said. "But in all seriousness, I do wish we could have introduced our classmates and our families to each other. Not everyone would have gotten along, but my sister's the sort who believes that any friend of mine is a friend of hers."

"Mine, too," I said.

We talked for a little bit about our families, which helped get our minds off the killing game... until I remembered why it was so tragic. We had our differences, and there were some of us who would probably never be friends, but we had the potential to at least get along and learn from those different from ourselves... and Monokuma was forcing us to kill each other.

* * *

After Sae and I split up, Tezuka-kun caught up with me on the hallway of the fourth floor.

"Got a minute, Miura?" Tezuka-kun said.

I stopped, turned to face Tezuka-kun and nodded. Even on days when I had to hold memorial services or deal with motives, my schedule was quite flexible in the killing game.

"I do, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, I'd just like to show you something," Tezuka-kun said, "namely, the portrait I did of you."

"Go right ahead," I said.

"Gotcha," Tezuka-kun said. "I'll go get it, so let's meet in the dining hall."

Tezuka-kun left for his room, while I went to the dining hall and sat down at a small table, pouring myself a glass of juice while I waited. A few minutes later, by the time I was finished with my drink, Tezuka-kun returned and put the portrait on the table.

"Here you go," Tezuka-kun said. "What do you think?"

I looked at my portrait. It was well-drawn, and only the colors made it apparent that I was wearing my Talent High School uniform rather than my old school's.

"It looks nice," I said. "If the worst happens and I end up dead, I'd be fine with having this portrait to remember me."

"Thanks," Tezuka-kun said, albeit not sounding completely happy. "I also drew myself and the other five, since you never know who might die next. If I get killed, you can probably use my room key to open up my room and get them. If- hypothetically speaking, of course- I end up killing someone, I'll give you my key before I'm executed."

I winced at Tezuka-kun's proposals, less because he'd make them so easily and more because they could very easily come true.

"What if the mastermind is the next to die?" I said. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Then I guess we'd get to go home," Tezuka-kun said, "or at least go to what's left of our homes. I can't say I'm particularly looking forward to that, but it's better than the rest of us dying off one by one."

"Which might happen anyway if we leave," I said. "Are you willing to take that risk?"

Tezuka-kun nodded.

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I might as well take my chances, right? And I figure they're a hell of a lot better out there than in here."

"I agree," I said. "Of course, we should make sure everyone else is willing to take the risk."

Tezuka-kun nodded. Perhaps everyone I'd spoken with so far felt similarly, but I needed to make sure we all agreed on our next course of action.

* * *

After lunch, I found Iwasawa-san in the garden. Apparently, she was looking around to see if there were any ingredients she could use to make dinner.

"I've always been curious about something," Iwasawa-san said. "Where do you suppose our food comes from?"

"You mean inside this school?" I said.

"That's right," Iwasawa-san said. "As Mr. Mizuhara discovered on our first day here, Monokuma regularly replaces what's in the kitchen with fresh food, and I wonder where he gets that food."

I paused to think for a moment.

"Obviously not from inside this garden," I said. "Not only do the plants and eggs not produce enough food to keep the kitchen stocked, but there's not enough variety in here. They'd need somewhere to catch the fish, land to grow the crops, and plant to produce the packaged food."

Iwasawa-san nodded approvingly. Apparently, this was the answer she'd been hoping for.

"I came to that conclusion, too," Iwasawa-san said. "In other words, the world must still be able to grow crops, raise livestock and feed at least some of its population."

"But maybe only us," I said. "After all, even in the best of times, people still starve to death, and relatively prosperous countries are no exception."

"I know," Iwasawa-san said. "Whenever the crops failed in my village, some people... didn't make it through the winter. If the Tragedy reached my village, I think famine would be the least of our worries."

"That sounds about right," I said. "I'm starting to regret suggesting that your village could adapt more easily."

Iwasawa-san paused. She didn't seem to hold my previous ill-considered remark against me, but what she had to say next was probably required more thought than "Don't worry about it," or something of the sort.

"Well, Miss Miura, let me ask you something," Iwasawa-san said. "Imagine that you end up moving to my village and stayed on a relative's farm. Your hosts expect you to stay for the foreseeable future and earn your keep while you're there. What do you do?"

"Let's see..." I said. "I'd probably get used to waking up early within a week or two, and would learn how to do my chores before long. The most difficult part would be living without technology, but I'd manage- I'm already used to living without my cell phone. It would be difficult at times, but since I would owe my hosts for taking me in, the least I could do is not whine about it."

"That sounds like an honest answer," Iwasawa-san said. "While you haven't been tested yet, you do seem like you're willing to change... which is more than can be said for my village. Many members of my village refuse to admit that they've been left behind by the modern world, so would they be any more willing to face the Tragedy?"

I shook my head.

"Not at all," I said. "That's the problem, isn't it?"

"Indeed," Iwasawa-san said. "Of course, while I believe the village may need to change in order to survive, I have a soft spot for it. It's my home, where my parents and everyone else I know have lived all their lives, so I don't know what I'd do without it."

"I think we all feel the same way to certain degrees," I said. "By staying in here, we're far from home, cut off from friends and family, and forced to give up our dreams. We don't know if we'll get those back if we leave, but that seems like the only choice."

"True," Iwasawa-san said. "I only hope there's a home for me to return to."

I left Iwasawa-san for now as she looked at the farm-like garden with eyes full of nostalgia, a sentiment I'd perhaps have shared if I'd seen something reminiscent of home. Perhaps it was for the best that the only link to my old life was my uniform, a blazer-style uniform you could see almost anywhere, and I had no mementos of home in my room. I wanted to get home, but to do that, I had to keep my mind on the present situation.

* * *

After lunch, I picked up my Monocoins, which had sat on my desk since the last trial. I'd had other things on my mind since I learned about the Tragedy, and ever since Yuuki-san died, I only went to spend my coins out of habit.

I walked to the school store, where Kagami-kun was waiting, and after saying hello to him, I started putting the coins in.

For some reason, I kept getting job hunting supplies I would likely never need- a business card with someone else's name, a set of Talent High School cufflinks and a ball-point pen that was promoted as being professional-looking at the expense of utility. There was also a student's career form, with choices that were nothing short of outlandish- "Time Traveler" was first, "Magical Girl" was second and "ESPer" was third.

"Looks like someone didn't take this seriously," I said, as I handed him the form.

Kagami-kun took a moment to read the form, chuckled and nodded.

"Apparently not," Kagami-kun said. "That said, Miura-san, you have had dreams you knew could never come true, haven't you?"

"I do," I said. "I had once wanted to be an author, but was told that it wasn't a realistic goal. Sae achieved it, of course, but the fact that she succeeded where so many failed is one part of the reason why I admire her so much."

While my feelings for Sae had changed, the respect I had for her as an author had not. In the past, it had been the one feeling I had for her above all others, but now, it was only part of what I felt for her among many other things.

"That's what I'm getting at," Kagami-kun said. "Ultimates have achieved things thought to be impossible, things that many others only dream about. Most people who love baseball would be lucky to play for a halfway decent college team, but the Ultimate Baseball Player was able to go pro... and he apparently doesn't even _like_ the sport. I imagine more than a few people would be jealous of him... unless they heard about what happened to him."

I'd heard Leon Kuwata's name before from a few different sources. Most of them were in various articles about him being a recruit for Class 78-B of Hope's Peak, and a few rumors about his distaste for the sport. The other was in the unabridged version of the e-book we read, which told about how Sayaka Maizono had tried to kill him... only for him to murder Maizono-san and be executed. Maizono-san and Kuwata-kun's fans must have been shocked when they heard the news, to say the least.

"From what I understand, both of them were pushed to the breaking point," I said. "Maizono-san was so desperate to get back to her friends and band members that she was willing to commit murder, while Kuwata-kun ended up killing Maizono-san in response, then trying to save his own life. I suppose this is yet more proof that the Ultimates are human, just like anyone else."

"Exactly," Kagami-kun said. "Talent isn't everything."

I wondered if the killing game was meant to be a level playing field of sorts, set up so that most of us would have virtually no use for our talents in hopes of showing how weak we were without them. That seemed entirely consistent with the fact that, with the state of the world as it is, most of our talents had very little use. It was almost enough to make me long for the days when the days when I was just another ordinary student, except for the fact that I knew those days would never return.

Kagami-kun handed the form back to me, even though I didn't really want it, saying that I'd won it and might as well take it with me. After crinkling it up and stuffing it in my skirt pocket, I retrieved the last of my coins from that pocket, and put it into the machine. For my final prize, I got a strange silver key with jewels set in it. My first thought was to take it and see if I could open the locked doors on the fifth floor, but not only was Talent High School unlikely to have such a gaudy key, but the key was far too large for any lock in the school.

"What's this?" I said.

"It's the Key of Love!" Monokuma said as he appeared. "It would lead to the Hotel Kumasutra, where you can live out your fantasies with one of your remaining classmates... but the entrance isn't here. Too bad!"

Monokuma then left once again, leaving me to simmer in my disappointment. A part of me wished I could have invited Sae to that love hotel, and, assuming she was up for it... you know what I'm getting at. The other part knew we weren't nearly "there" yet, especially since I hadn't even confessed to her, and even if we were, we weren't ready for that level of intimacy yet. Surprisingly enough, what other people might think of it never even crossed my mind this time- perhaps I'd largely come to accept my sexuality, and/or stopped worrying what people might think.

"Well, that was a waste of time," I said, "and it looks like I'm out of Monocoins once again. See you later, Kagami-kun."

I started to leave, but stopped as I heard Kagami-kun's voice.

"One more thing, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "If anyone can find the right choice, I believe it's you."

"Why do you think so?" I said, as I turned around. "Deciding whether or not to leave, as well as finding a way to get out isn't anything like the class trials."

"Maybe not," Kagami-kun said, "but think about it. Most of the Ultimates fall back on their talents, as the basis for their confidence in themselves, and generally play to their strengths. Since you don't have any 'designated' talent, your confidence isn't tied down to any one of your accomplishments or talents. Because of that, you're better able to adapt to this situation, and more likely to find a solution to our problems."

I thanked Kagami-kun, but left with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he had a point. Yuuki-san had been a good example of a person who had significant shortcomings and self-worth issues despite being the Ultimate Cheerleader, even though said accomplishment had required both hard work and talent. On the other hand, what did it say about me? I'd been out of my depth since I'd tried to take an active role in ending the killing game, so even if my confidence wasn't over-invested in one area, it had been severely damaged. If Kagami-kun was right and I was the most likely to be able to end this killing game, then perhaps there was little hope of _any_ of us doing so.

* * *

I decided to return to the student council room, and found Sugiura-san looking around. Not long after she saw me, she turned and glanced directly at the security camera before looking back at me.

"So, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "Seeing as how everything in here is broadcast on TV, what do you suppose will happen now that everyone 'knows' I'm the Ultimate Poisoner?"

I paused to think for a moment, imagining the various scenarios.

"If the case hasn't been closed, you might be taken in for questioning," I said, "although it's unclear whether they have enough evidence to charge you with murder. If you're put on trial and convicted, though, you won't be sentenced as an adult. You'll likely spend some time in prison, but you won't be executed for one murder committed as a juvenile... unlike here, of course."

Sugiura-san let off a long sigh. She probably knew, like Sae did, that Japan had an astronomical conviction rate, one that was too good to be true. As such, if she was put on trial, she'd almost certainly be found guilty, and even if the death penalty was off the table, her life would probably be ruined once she got out of prison.

"But that's assuming we still have a legal system, right?" Sugiura-san said. "If not, what's stopping a mob from lynching me the moment I get out of this school?"

"Let me put it this way," I said. "How many people honestly cared about the CEO you allegedly poisoned? If enough people wanted him dead that there were many suspects for his death, what makes you think that people will want to avenge him? Or that they'll conclude that you were the one who did it?"

Sugiura-san remained silent a moment.

"Because I don't put all that much faith in human nature," Sugiura-san said. "Sure, they may not be all that broken up about his death, but they're probably worried about a so-called murderer in their midst, and don't give a shit about a fair trial or a just punishment. After all, if people weren't this rotten, then the world probably wouldn't be so fucked up right now, would it?"

I shook my head.

"No, it wouldn't," I said. "I take it you don't want to leave the school?"

"Weren't you listening when we discussed this two days ago?" Sugiura-san said, raising her voice. "Staying in here isn't an option as long as Monokuma and the mastermind control this school. As much as it sucks that the rest of the world's become a shithole, if leaving here's my only option, I've just got to grin and bear it."

I bowed deeply in apology.

"I'm sorry, Sugiura-san," I said. "I should have anticipated that reading the e-book would have caused something like this."

Sugiura-san took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"No need to apologize, Miura," Sugiura-san said, "unless you're one of the bastards responsible for the Tragedy, in which case saying sorry wouldn't nearly be good enough. Anyway, it's better for us to find out about the apocalypse now than after we go to all the trouble of getting out of here, isn't it?"

I stood up straight and nodded. As horrible as the truth was, we had a choice to make, and at the very least, we could make an informed decision.

"That's right," I said, "but I was hoping the information would be more useful."

"It might just be," Sugiura-san said. "The fact that hope won against despair at Hope's Peak probably means there's a clue of some sort hidden in there. All we need to do is find out what."

I left Sugiura-san for now with much to think about. Dinner would be fairly soon, and I was fairly certain everyone would choose to leave, but then what? Even once we made our decision, our problems would be far from over, and just because we knew what to do about them didn't mean we'd actually be able to do it.

* * *

I spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing the e-book we'd gotten, which had been entrusted to my care, in hopes of finding a clue of some short, but I was unsuccessful. Our killing game was similar to Hope's Peak's in many ways, so in theory, we could end it the same way, but in practice, I doubted it. Back when I explored the school, Monokuma had made various references to what had happened before, so he'd clearly learned his lessons from the previous killing game and had covered his bases this time. There had to be some place he'd left himself vulnerable, some mistake he had or would make, but if there were, I couldn't find one just yet.

At dinner, I counted all six of my classmates in attendance. Once the meal was served, I called for everyone's attention.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," I said. "By now, I assume that you've had time to think things over and come to a decision as to whether we should stay in the school or try to leave?"

Everyone nodded.

"I'll go first," Sae said. "Judging from what we've heard two days ago, it is entirely likely that the outside world is extremely dangerous, and possibly uninhabitable. Everyone we knew outside the school may be dead already."

A somber silence descended on the group. We'd all come to terms with this over the past few days, but it was still difficult to be reminded of it.

"However," Sae said, "as long as we remain in this school, we are at Monokuma's mercy, and in danger of being killed or executed. If we can escape, perhaps we will be able to help rebuild civilization and find our missing loved ones."

"If, Edogawa," Sugiura-san said. "No matter what state the world's outside in, Monokuma's not letting us just walk out of here- and never will."

"Fair enough, Sugiura-san," Sae said. "We should, however, have an idea of what we want to accomplish and all agree on that idea."

"I know," Sugiura-san said. "I spoke with Miura earlier. Like I said when we first discussed this, I'm all for leaving, if only because we don't have any other choice."

"Yeah, I'm with you there," Tezuka-kun said. "If we don't leave, what'll we do? Wait for the next time one of us snaps and kills someone? Because that's what's gonna happen if we stay here too long."

Inoue-kun nodded grimly. "Too long" was a vague definition, but considering the killing game, a murder could happen any time- perhaps even later tonight.

"Monokuma will do everything in his power to ensure that we kill each other," Inoue-kun said. "Even if Fukuda-kun accidentally killed Katsura-san, the lengths Monokuma went to go to ensure one of them ended up committing murder proves that we can't stay."

"I know," Iwasawa-san said. "Of course, I have a question- what if no one is out there waiting for you?"

We paused for a moment to think, since as depressing as the possibility was, it couldn't be dismissed. That said, it didn't change our minds or invalidate what we knew- that the school was no longer was a safe haven.

"Then learning their fates will give us a sense of closure," I said. "If they're alive, however, I believe we must do what we can to find them. Either way, we aren't doing our loved ones any favors by sitting around here."

"Well said, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "We've got to do something, even if I don't know what."

The conversation came to a halt, and I looked around. While we still had our doubts about leaving, nobody seemed willing to make any further arguments in favor of staying..

"So, in other words, it seems that you all are still willing to escape," I said.

"That's probably overstating our enthusiasm," Kagami-kun said, "but yes, that's more or less it."

"Well, then, let's take a vote," I said. "All those in favor of escaping, say 'Aye.' All those in favor of staying here, say 'Nay.'"

All seven students, myself included, responded with "Aye."

"It's decided," I said. "From this point onward, our efforts will focus on finding a way to open the door and leave this school."

We held another brainstorming session, but didn't get anywhere. Some of us suspected that the way to open the door was somewhere we couldn't reach- the headmistress' office, the data center or the second floor of the dormitories- but we didn't know for certain (at least not without running afoul of Monokuma's rule against picking locks).

In the end, the only thing that had changed was that we'd once again arrived at the decision we'd reached in the first hour of the killing game- that we needed to leave the school. We still didn't know the mastermind's identity, have any means of opening the front door, or know of any other way out of the school. As it stood now, our vote was a significant decision, but it only amounted to choosing which road to go down, and if we couldn't walk that road to wherever it led, our efforts would amount to nothing.

* * *

After dinner, I met up with Sae for another snack. Since we'd had more than our share of depressing conversations over the past few days, we weren't sure how to begin, so I asked about something that had been on my mind since my talk with Sugiura-san.

"There's one thing I found odd about the description of the Hope's Peak killing school life," I said. "Namely, the fact that it was a battle between hope and despair."

"What do you mean?" Sae said. "Trying to stay hopeful is a constant struggle in a situation like this. I'm sure most of us have gone through a few periods in which we've had to struggle to keep going- I certainly have."

I found Sae's admission easier to believe than I had earlier on in the killing game. Not only had I learned more about her vulnerabilities, but the situation was desperate enough that the strongest of us were starting to crack.

"I know," I said, "but while keeping hope is important to our survival, I was talking about a literal struggle between the ideologies of hope and despair- whatever that means. I always thought of those as emotions we feel, brought up by our personalities and circumstances, rather than abstract ideals. I'm sure the fourteen students who just wanted to survive and escape didn't care about things like that."

"I'm sure they didn't," Sae said. "I felt the same way."

"Besides," I said, "I don't think anyone in here- dead or alive, blackened or spotless- completely gave in to despair. If they had, I'm sure they'd have killed themselves, or simply waited until they wasted away. Even Hoshino-kun, who'd said he didn't see any hope of us finding a way out of here, still thought he could escape by graduating, and persisted until we'd convicted him."

"He certainly wasn't the type to give up on anything," Sae said. "If only he'd chosen to work with us rather than murder Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san."

I sadly nodded. While Hoshino-kun wasn't wrong to doubt our chances, he hadn't just killed two of us, but he'd also undermined our efforts to stay together, and ensured he'd never be able to contribute to them again.

"I have many regrets about how things turned out," I said, "and how many people died on my watch. A part of me wants to ensure that'll never happen again, but..."

"You'd be asking the impossible of yourself," Sae said, "just like Mitamura-san did."

I nodded, remembering what I'd said to Mitamura-san after the first trial now that those words had been turned back at me. It was somewhat ironic that I'd understood this better back when the killing game was fairly new than after I'd tried my hardest to stop it.

"I know," I said. "I haven't forgotten the promise I made to Fukuda-kun… or the fact that there aren't many of us left to save."

"That may be so," Sae said, "but please don't forget that you're still alive. I'm happy for that, and you should be, too."

I nodded, remembering Sae's earlier request for me not to throw my life away. Since, as Inoue-kun said, we were probably lucky to make it this far, having survived four class trials and outlived over half of our classmates, it was probably asking a bit much to expect to be able to end this killing game here and now. On the other hand, since it would likely only be a matter of time before the next murder, I couldn't help but hope to end the killing game, anyway.

"I am," I said. "Oh, and Sae…"

"Yes, Kaori?" Sae said.

I paused short. There was one thing I desperately wanted to say to her, but myriad ways it could go wrong. Maybe I could end up stuttering and making a fool of myself. Maybe, even if Sae was into girls as well as boys, she had no interest in me as anything more than a friend. Maybe Sae was unwilling to make a commitment in this killing game. Maybe Sae had lied about being bisexual, and would be so disgusted that she'd break off our friendship. Or maybe Sae was the mastermind, eagerly hoping to stomp all over my feelings and savor my sense of heartbreak and betrayal, a possibility I did not want to consider but could not deny. My imagination was running so wild I couldn't tell the actual possibilities from my baseless fears, but rational or not, I was afraid enough that I couldn't say it.

"F-Forget it," I said.

"All right," Sae said. "Just remember- you can talk with me about anything."

I hesitantly nodded, then parted ways with Sae for the night. It wasn't Sae's fault, but this was one of the few times I'd left a conversation with her in a worse mood than when I'd started, and considering how depressed I'd been for much of today, that was saying a lot.

* * *

Shortly before Night Time, I returned to my room, and after taking a shower and changing into my tracksuit, got back to the task of finding the mastermind, one that had mostly fallen by the wayside since our thoughts had drifted to deciding whether to leave.

I looked at the cards for my six remaining classmates, and tried to rule one out, but to no avail. I tried to see whether any of them were likely suspects, but by my calculations, none of them had more than a 25 percent chance of being the mastermind. Like Tezuka-kun put it, killing someone I suspected of being the mastermind was "a sucker's bet," and I wouldn't be the only one who'd pay if I "crapped out." I tried to sort them into "tiers" according to the likelihood of their being the mastermind, but while Sugiura-san and Kagami-kun were the two top candidates, I couldn't decide who was "moderately likely" and who was "unlikely," so this didn't end up accomplishing much. When Monokuma made his Night Time announcement, I ended up going to bed.

Because I was so uneasy, it took me some time to fall asleep. While there was the threat of anyone I knew being killed at practically any time, I still had to count my blessings. My room was a decent temperature, and my bed was comfortable enough to sleep in. Despite the danger, both my room door and the door to my bathroom had locks, meaning I was probably safer than anywhere outside. Once I woke up, I would be able to enjoy a healthy breakfast that was safe to eat, without having to worry about my food running out. Maybe this was the mastermind's ultimate goal- to push us so far that we'd be forced to leave this school for the world outside.

Whatever the case may be, the killing game had gone on too long and claimed too many of our lives. Perhaps we'd be forced to leave the school, but somehow, we'd have to put a stop to this game, and then see to helping rebuild the world outside.

It was a shame that I'd made little progress finding the mastermind. Sugiura-san seemed less likely to be a suspect, but I had no evidence for my prime suspect, Kagami-kun, apart from a mere hunch. No one would believe me if I accused someone at this point, since all my accusations of the blackened in each case so far had been supported by a conclusive summary of how they committed their crimes, with each point backed up by evidence and the trust I'd built. If I started wildly accusing someone of being the mastermind, the others might stop listening to me... or worse.

Once again, I was disgusted with my own indecisiveness. I couldn't make a move against the mastermind, out of fear of furthering the killing game. It had taken me two days to once again decide what we'd tried to do all along. I couldn't even confess to Sae, simply because I was afraid of how she'd react and what might come of it. When it came down to it, I was no hero- I was a coward who'd gotten into this school solely due to luck.

But then I heard a voice inside me, saying "That's not true, Kaori," and recognized it as Sae's. While I'd gradually come to terms with her being an ordinary person at heart, not just my idol, she'd never had such lofty expectations for me- she simply regarded me as a good person and a trustworthy friend. She was one of the first people inside this school to believe in me, and I strove to be worthy of that belief. It was possible she was the mastermind and had lied to me all along, but that didn't necessarily mean that her feelings for me weren't real.

I then remembered the promises I'd made to Sae, Fukuda-kun and Iwasawa-san. It was far too late for me to bring about a completely happy ending to the killing game, but I could continue fighting and stay true to myself, no matter what Monokuma or the mastermind threw our way.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _I hope you've been enjoying Where Talent Goes To Die thus far._

 _If you have, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the rest won't be on this website._

 _I'm gonna release the rest in a separate OVA, and charge you an additional fee for viewing it._

 _It'll piss off the viewers and waste any goodwill we might have built up, but it'll make me a quick buck, won't it?_

 _Psych! I gotcha there._

 _Why're you bastards still pissed off?_

* * *

 **Author's** **Notes**

Thank you for the reviews.

It's a fairly short chapter, sandwiched between the new floor and the motive and lasting only a single day. Incidentally, Miura has one conversation with each of the survivors here.

Miura's nearing her breaking point... and things will get worse very soon. It's the same sense of frustration and despair that those who have lost many people and weren't able to save anyone would feel at this point in the killing game. That said, she has gained a fair amount of self-confidence and resilience, and probably would have been broken by now if she hadn't.

Next up is the motive.


	24. Chapter V, Part 3

_Day 24_

I woke up feeling a little better, refreshed from a good night's sleep. Now that we'd decided that we still wanted to escape, we were back to where we started, and I could get back to my attempts to find the mastermind. If all went well, I could do so before Monokuma came up with another motive. It was a naïve hope, but nevertheless, the only chance I had of preventing another murder.

Unfortunately, not only did things not go as I'd hoped, something I'd come to expect in my time here, but they went wrong sooner than I'd expected.

During breakfast, Monokuma paid us another visit. He arrived some time after we'd started eating, around the time some of the faster eaters had already finished.

"Good morning, everyone!" Monokuma said. "I assume you bastards haven't completely given up on getting outside, have you?"

"Well, there isn't much of a choice," I said. "You've always assumed we'd try to graduate, and probably still do now, even if the prospect of escaping isn't as desirable as it used to be."

Monokuma let off yet another "Puhuhuhu!" laugh. By now, we'd come to recognize that laugh all too well... as well as understand that whenever he found something funny, it never boded well for us.

"On the contrary, Miura-san, there's always a choice," Monokuma said. "Either one of you commits murder by 7 AM three days from now... or I'm gonna kill one of your families."

All of us turned white. While we'd feared for our lives every day we were stuck in this school, at least we could take solace in the fact that our families were all right... at least until we'd learned about the secret behind the previous motive, as well as the Tragedy. We'd feared the worst for our loved ones after those revelations, and Monokuma had just confirmed those fears.

"Surprised?" Monokuma said. "You really thought Fukuda-kun and Katsura-san were the only ones who'd had their families taken hostage? Well, they were just the unlucky bastards I chose last time, 'cause they seemed like they'd take it the worst."

"But in the end, Katsura-san didn't kill me," I said, "and Fukuda-kun only killed her by accident."

"And what'd Fukuda-kun do after that?" Monokuma said. "Like a good little boy, he did as I said and tried to deceive you lot and graduate, because he cared for his family. If you lot care for your families, you'll follow his example and kill someone."

I wondered why Monokuma hadn't brought out this motive, presumably his "big guns" when it came to incentives to kill, earlier on. Perhaps he'd hoped we'd kill with as little incentive as possible, and was using this to force us to do so.

"I've left a notepad in each of your rooms," Monokuma said, "and it details which of your loved ones' lives are at risk. As for who's on the chopping block this time... I'm gonna reveal that 24 hours in advance of the deadline. After the first 72 hours, and every 24 hours after that, I'll kill one of your families- either yours or that of someone who died- until someone commits murder."

Monokuma was about to leave when he stopped.

"One more thing," Monokuma said. "Suicide _does not_ count- I repeat, it _does not_ count. The last time someone used that to weasel their way out of the deal, I got screwed over big time. Also, if you do kill someone, you've at least got to at least try to get away with it. You probably will get caught in the end, but if the class trial's entertaining, it's all good."

Ordinarily, I wouldn't understand what Monokuma was referring to, but this time I knew- the time Sakura Ogami had committed suicide while under Monokuma's thumb. Monokuma had tried to turn things into his advantages by manipulating Ogami-san's best friend, Asahina-san, into thinking that Ogami-san had killed herself out of despair rather than as a carefully thought-out strike against Monokuma. This time, however, even that option was closed off to us.

"Well, I've said enough," Monokuma said. "The clock is ticking, so I'm sure you won't let me down. Later!"

Monokuma then left, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. While none of us found Monokuma's idea of humor very funny, he'd seemingly dropped all pretenses of silliness, and shown how truly twisted and depraved he was.

"He's really got us over a barrel this time, hasn't he?" Tezuka-kun said.

"I know," I said. "Before, refraining from killing was not only the morally correct choice, but it also was the only way to avoid endangering the lives of the other spotless. Now, if someone _doesn't_ get killed, many innocents will die."

"True," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, at least one of us strikes me as the kind of person who would accept- or even be glad- if any harm came to their loved ones."

Kagami-kun glanced at Sugiura-san, who glared at him for a moment, then shook her head, clearly knowing what he was implying.

"As unlikely as it sounds, I'm not that kind of person," Sugiura-san said. "My dad treats me as more of a subordinate than a daughter, my mom goes along with anything my dad does, and I'm not close to my older brothers, in age or blood ties. That said, I can't just let any of them die, and would like to believe that they'd do the same for me, if only because we're family."

"I'm surprised, Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa-san said. "I didn't think you'd much stock in the idea of family."

"It is what it is, Iwasawa," Sugiura-san said. "You don't choose your parents or your siblings, so it's not surprising that many families have members who do terrible things to each other. But even if that's true, you've got to look out for your family, because if you don't, who will?"

The others were silent for a moment. Loyalty to one's family was always held as a sacred virtue, so much that we hadn't stopped to think of the practicality of it. Would we have ended up killing each other if we'd all been part of one family, rather than sixteen classmates who'd regressed into strangers? It wasn't impossible, but perhaps if we'd known each other all our lives, we'd trust each other a little more.

"Anyway," Sugiura-san said, "I don't think it's an exaggeration or overly sentimental to say that we've become a family of sorts by now. We aren't always kind to each other, but I don't think any of us who are still here, except for the mastermind, would screw each other over just to save ourselves."

"Quite right," Kagami-kun said, "but it's another story when our _actual_ family is involved. We're all in a similar position as Katsura-san, who was willing to consider murder to save her family."

"But she couldn't actually do it," I said. "Maybe one of the previous three blackened would have actually killed me, but she didn't have it in her."

"I suppose so," Kagami-kun said, "but since she'd never have even _considered_ it under most circumstances, the fact that she even _attempted_ to kill you speaks volumes."

Part of the "point" of the killing game was that anyone could kill given the right motivations, so it only seemed natural that Monokuma would do everything in his power to give us those motivations. Since Monokuma had ratcheted up the pressure as the killing game went on, what would he have in store for us next time? Or would there even be a next time?

Everyone who hadn't yet finished simply left their breakfasts there, and warily went back to their rooms, likely having realized what they had. With the stakes as high as they were, any of us could be murdered at any time, perhaps by a friend we'd come to trust.

* * *

After returning to my room, I found my "hostage notepad" on my desk, which looked similar to the one that contained my weakness. Hesitantly, I turned it on and looked away, too afraid to confront the truth.

Within a few minutes, when I'd just managed to work up the courage to look, I heard a knock on my door.

"It's me," Sae said. "Do you mind if I come over, Kaori?"

"Certainly," I said. "Just a moment- I'll let you in."

I opened the door and let Sae enter my room. She sat down on my bed and I pulled up my chair across from her, holding my notepad in my hands. Once we were seated, I noticed Sae had her hostage notepad.

"I suppose you're wondering which members of my family are my hostages," I said. "I was just about to find out."

"I am," Sae said, "if, that is, you're willing to share it."

I nodded and nervously took a look at my notepad. What followed was a list of people, with their names, relation to me and current status. Each one could be tapped for more information.

 _Kaori Miura's Loved Ones_

 _Misaki Miura (Older sister): Alive, Hostage_

 _Mei Miura (Mother): Alive, Hostage_

 _Kouichi Miura (Father): Alive, Hostage_

 _Keiko Fujioka (Maternal Grandmother): Deceased_

 _Akihiko Fujioka (Maternal Grandfather): Deceased_

 _Yosuke Miura (Paternal Grandfather): Deceased_

 _Amane Miura (Paternal Grandmother): Deceased_

Tears ran down my face as I read the list of my deceased relatives. While it was a small comfort that my parents and sister were alive, at least for now, and the deaths of most of my grandparents had been old news (my maternal grandparents had died in the relatively recent past, while my paternal grandfather died before my sister was born), I hadn't heard of my paternal grandmother's death. As I tapped her name for more details, I found that she'd died about a year ago, likely one of countless victims of the Tragedy.

I'd never gotten along with Grandmother... which was what made this so much harder. If my parents had died, I'd have suffered a wound to the heart that would never fully heal, but since I knew they loved me and were proud of me, and I'd always shown them love, respect and gratitude, I wouldn't have any regrets. Grandmother, however, had never fully accepted her daughter-in-law or her grandchildren, much less any granddaughter-in-law she might have, so I'd left too many things unfinished with her.

"G-Grandmother's dead...?!" I said.

"I'm sorry, Kaori," Sae said, embracing me.

After a moment, I composed myself and wiped my tears.

"I... I'll be all right," I said. "I'm probably not the only one who's lost a loved one to the Tragedy, and definitely am not the only one who might lose one to Monokuma's new motive, so I can't wallow too much in my own grief. What about you?"

Sae took out her notepad and showed it to me.

 _Sae Edogawa's Loved Ones_

 _Makoto Edogawa (Older sister): Alive, Hostage_

 _Soichiro Edogawa(Father): Unknown_

 _Sachiko Edogawa(Mother): Deceased_

Sae's grandparents were deceased, like mine were. Apparently, only relatively close relatives- parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and first cousins- were listed, whether because Monokuma thought we'd only care about those people, or because he hadn't bothered to go farther.

"Just your sister?" I said.

Sae nodded sadly.

"It appears so," Sae said. "My mother died when I was young, and as for my father... I can only guess what happened. It's possible he, as a police detective was killed during the Tragedy."

"I'm sorry..." I said.

"I only said it was _possible_ ," Sae said. "Maybe Father escaped somehow, and is trying to save his daughters. As for my grandparents, they died when I was young- the last of them, my maternal grandmother, passed away not long after Mother's death. I miss them, but I've had the chance to mourn and come to terms with their loss."

"I feel the same way about the family members I lost before I came here," I said. "Losing them was difficult, even if their deaths were due to natural causes, but I ultimately came to terms with their loss. This time, though, my parents and sister don't _have_ to die. I want to do what I can to keep them alive, even if I don't know how."

"Then we're the same," Sae said. "One day, I hope to get out of here and meet your family, as well as introduce you to mine."

We spent a while together, talking about the loved ones we'd lost, as well as those we might lose in the future. I'd never met Sae's father or sister, but learning more about them helped me feel as though I knew them as people, rather than an anonymous stranger who might die less than three days from now. Perhaps if everyone here saw each other the same way, we might not have lost so many of us by now.

* * *

Sae eventually left my room, and after spending a little while alone, I decided to look for the others to see how they were holding up. I found Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun in the student council room.

"Hi, Miura," Tezuka-kun said. "I guess you're wondering who Monokuma took hostage from our families, right?"

"If you're willing to talk about it," I said. "My parents and my older sister are my hostages."

Tezuka-kun looked at Inoue-kun, who nodded.

"Monokuma got my big brother and our folks," Tezuka-kun said. "As for Inoue, his hostages are his dad, his mom and his grandpa on his dad's side of the family."

"The relatives on my mom's side of the family- my grandma and grandpa, my aunt and uncle, and my cousin- are 'unknown,' for now," Inoue-kun said. "Maybe Monokuma and the thugs working for him couldn't get into America."

I had to wonder what kind of manpower Monokuma had, but clearly, it had limits. While he could apparently find and secure most of our relatives, perhaps his flunkies didn't operate in America, or simply couldn't locate Inoue-kun's mother's side of the family.

"That may be possible," I said. "I'm personally curious as to why the Tragedy started in Japan."

"Obviously because of Hope's Peak," Tezuka-kun said. "Then again, there's lots of other schools they could take advantage of, so I'm not sure why Enoshima and her followers started there."

"Maybe because she could get into Hope's Peak," Inoue-kun said, "or because Hope's Peak had dirty secrets they could exploit."

"That's possible," I said. "Of course, it seems rather convenient that even if Hope's Peak was corrupt, Enoshima could bring it down so easily. If she found something, it must have been important, but the e-book we got doesn't give any details."

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I don't know who wrote it or why, but maybe there's something the writer doesn't know or that they don't want getting out."

We shared a few theories about Hope's Peak for a while, but didn't get anywhere, since there were some things that the unabridged e-book didn't cover. Of course, all this was of secondary importance for now. The Hope's Peak killing game had concluded, but ours was still going.

* * *

I found Iwasawa-san in the garden, looking after the chickens. Since they were still alive, someone, most likely Monokuma, had to have been feeding them since the killing game started.

"Hello, Miss Miura," Iwasawa-san said. "I suppose you're wondering about my hostages?"

"If that's all right with you," I said. "I understand this is a difficult time for all of us."

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather not talk about it," Iwasawa-san said. "All I will say, though, is that I will not commit murder the sake of my family. It may not be easy to believe, but I swear to you it is the truth."

"All right," I said. "Just forget I asked."

"I will," Iwasawa-san said, "but I suppose the others you spoke with were more forthcoming, weren't they?"

I nodded, then held out my fingers to count each person.

"I spoke with Sae, Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun," I said, "all of whom offered to tell me which of their family members were hostages, without my even needing to ask."

While the reasons varied from person to person, I suppose everyone who volunteered that information, myself included, wanted to be up-front about what we had to lose. I think Iwasawa-san understood that, too.

"I see," Iwasawa-san said. "As another thing that might be difficult to believe, I have no desire to see harm come to your family or anyone else's, since everyone has people special to them, and everyone is special to someone else."

I was tempted to mention Enoshima as an exception, but apparently, that wasn't entirely true. The unabridged version said that her sister had loved her enough to take part in the scheme to plunge the world into despair, and apparently, Enoshima somehow reciprocated the feeling.

"True," I said. "Ordinarily, I'd assume that Monokuma would kill everyone's families if there isn't a murder before the deadline, but now that I think about it this way, it makes a certain amount of sense. Perhaps Monokuma believes that we wouldn't let any innocent hostages die, and might do anything- even kill- to prevent that from happening. Alternatively, Monokuma might execute the first family as a warning, thus causing the person whose family is put on the line next to kill to prevent that from happening... not that I want to wait until the time limit finds out to see what he'll do."

While it seemed like we were overly gullible if we didn't call Monokuma's bluffs and let him go through with his threats, the truth was that there was too much at stake for us to do so. Of course, he'd probably hedged his bets by not killing off all his hostages after the first deadline, so that he'd still have leverage against us if we didn't immediately do as he said. With that in mind, we were probably lucky that he didn't execute someone right off the bat to prove that he was serious.

"Neither do I," Iwasawa-san said. "I really hope that there's a solution to this that doesn't involve killing anyone."

"Well, it's like Mitamura-san once said," I said. "This 'game' requires us to actually participate, so even in a situation like this, we still can decide whether we give in to temptation or find another solution."

Iwasawa-san felt a little better at hearing Mitamura-san's wisdom- or at least that of the Mitamura-san she respected- but I think we both knew that was nothing more than a platitude. Not only did games actively require participation, but they had certain methods to enforce it, such as move timers in professional shogi matches. Monokuma had never been content to let us live peacefully in the school, since even the relatively peaceful periods were merely preludes to the next motive, so I could only imagine what other ideas he had to ensure our participation in the killing game.

* * *

I met up with Sugiura-san as she cooked dinner, watching her even more carefully than usual. Of course, since anyone could end up committing murder at this point, even before we found out whose family was going to die, she, the so-called Ultimate Poisoner, wasn't much more suspicious than the other five.

"My parents and older brothers are my hostages," Sugiura-san said without preamble. "You seem like you've got a pretty good family, so I'm not sure you'd understand, but even if I don't get along with my family, I'm scared shitless at the thought of losing them."

I shook my head.

"I think I actually understand," I said. "My paternal grandmother was a strict and highly traditional woman who never approved of me or my mother, but it still broke my heart to hear that she'd apparently died at some point after I'd come to this school... simply because she's family."

"I get that," Sugiura-san said, somewhat convinced. "You might be surprised to hear that, as dysfunctional as my family seems sometimes, my mom actually got along really well with her mother-in-law. Mom knew that by marrying Dad, she'd marry into his family, whether she liked her in-laws or not, while Grandma respected her son's choices."

"That's good," I said. "I suppose that's part of the reason behind your feelings about family?"

"I guess," Sugiura-san said. "Even if love, whether familial or romantic, is idealized, just like friendship often is, human relationships take a lot of work. When I see how much you and Edogawa seem to trust each other, I know it's because you've been through a lot together and proved that you're worthy of each other's trust."

I nodded. It had all started back when we'd barely known each other for two days, when Sae took a leap of faith and chose to trust me during the first investigation. Of course, that also required my responding in kind, by repaying that trust with loyalty and trusting her (who also saw to it that my trust had been well-placed).

"What about you, Sugiura-san?" I said. "You've been with us since the beginning and have proven able to resist the temptation to kill. We can't quite say that you won't do that, or that you aren't the mastermind behind the killing game, but I think you're at least somewhat trustworthy. At the very least, you aren't much more likely to kill than anyone else is."

Sugiura-san scoffed. For a moment, I worried that my final comment had taken all credibility away from what I was trying to say, but it seemed it didn't matter.

"Spare me the flattery, Miura," Sugiura-san said. "I can tell that at least part of that was just you trying to be nice. After all, if I turned out to be the mastermind, you wouldn't be half as broken up as if it were Edogawa, right?"

I paused, then hesitantly shook my head.

"No," I said, "but no matter which of us is the mastermind, I'd feel at least a little upset that a friend had deceived me all this time."

"I can believe that," Sugiura-san said. "I may not really be close to anyone here, but I still can't really wrap my head around the idea of any of them being a sick enough bastard- or bitch- to get he killing game going and laugh as we murder each other."

I continued watching Sugiura-san cook in silence. She'd proven trustworthy so far, but I kept a vigilant eye on her, since there was no telling what we'd do at this point. The otherwise reasonable Katsura-san had been pushed far enough to consider murder, and if she hadn't had as much of a conscience as she had, I would most likely be dead. Were the rest of us any different from her?

* * *

At dinner, we all gathered, and unofficially christened the new notepads with the "hostage notepad" moniker I'd come up with.

Clearly anticipating that people were wary of her, Sugiura-san took a bite of each person's meal before serving it. The food was cold by the time she was done testing it, but no one seemed to mind, since we only ate to fill our stomachs.

"So I suppose everyone knows which of their family members are hostages, right?" I said.

The five people I'd spoken with nodded- even Iwasawa-san, who'd refused to answer my question. Kagami-kun, however, shook his head.

"Now that you mention it, I don't," Kagami-kun said. "As strange as it may sound, I happened to get a defective hostage notepad."

Kagami-kun produced the notepad that would have showed his family, and tried to turn on. The power light seemed to turn on, but while I didn't see any cracks in or damage to the screen, it didn't show anything. Perhaps something had fried the circuitry.

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Sugiura-san said. "Out of everyone here, yours just happens to break down. Does that mean your family, if you have one, is off the hook?"

"It probably means something's wrong with Mr. Kagami's notepad," Iwasawa-san said, "just like your memory card didn't work with the game console, and my weakness notepad had a defective battery. Technology isn't always reliable, is it?"

Sugiura-san sighed, a tacit admission of defeat even if she wasn't willing to say it outright.

"True," I said. "I can't imagine a reason why Monokuma wouldn't have given you a working weakness notepad, considering that Mitamura-san's weakness was what drove her to commit murder- in fact, Monokuma would have preferred that Mitamura-san find out as quickly as possible. As for Sugiura-san, I suspect that her memory card not working was entirely random. I don't think there's any pattern going on here."

"You might be right," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, with my notepad the way it is, I don't even know if my family's dead or alive. The only way I'll find out is if Monokuma decides to punish them and lets me learn of their fate."

"That's possible," Iwasawa-san said. "It's possible that Monokuma's lying about the status of our loved ones. Maybe he doesn't actually have any hostages."

Iwasawa's voice was hesitant, a desperate attempt to convince herself.

"Or maybe about having the mastermind's family hostage," Tezuka-kun said. "Maybe they got a fake notepad to throw us off- it could be anyone, after all."

"Maybe," I said. "But at the same time, it's also our choice whether to share that information with others. Of course, the mastermind could have anticipated that, and made it so they'd have something to show the others."

I thought of the two people who hadn't showed me their hostages. Kagami-kun apparently had an excuse, since his didn't work, but what about Iwasawa-san? What had her notepad told her that she couldn't tell me?

We didn't come up with any real ideas over dinner, but I did realize that I'd been so caught up in the latest motive that I hadn't been able to focus on my search for the mastermind at all today. Perhaps the offer to let us go free if the mastermind died was little more than an incentive to murder the most likely suspect, but Monokuma also seemed to deliberately use the motives to distract us from that pursuit.

* * *

I barely got any sleep at all that night, and when I did, I cried myself to sleep.

Before long, though, my grief over my paternal grandmother's death was overshadowed by fear for the rest of my family... as well as for Sae and the rest of my friends inside these walls. At this point, the only way to stop the first hostages from being executed was to kill someone inside here. It was an impossible choice- while I loved my parents and my sister, I also loved Sae, and considered the rest of my remaining survivors to be "family" in the sense that Sugiura-san described- perhaps even the mastermind. Unfortunately, at least one of those people would likely die within the next two days, and the only question was who.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _Let's be honest. It's hard to churn out sequels and new seasons without falling back on old material._

 _Viewers are smart cookies, or maybe they're just paranoid. They'll catch everything that looks familiar, from you putting the Ultimate Detective in twice, to you making the first murder a stabbing._

 _You've got three paths ahead of you. The first is to try harder to fool the viewers. Then again, any solution that mainly involves doing what you do better isn't such a great choice._

 _The second is to make your series so that you can write anything you want- follow up your action film with a romantic comedy sequel, then maybe lead into a horror flick next. The only problem is that if you can manage this, you'd probably be the very first to do it._

 _The third, which I recommend, is to recycle, and make no apologies for it. Your fans will notice, but why do they coming back if not for more of the same?_

 _So don't be afraid to do the same thing over and over! After all, you know it worked the first time, didn't it?_

* * *

 _Day 25_

I woke up, feeling an odd sense of deja vu with the dream I'd had last night.

Of course, my morning routine had long since become familiar to me, so much so that I could probably do it in my sleep. There were times when I found it hard to believe that when I'd first started at my old school, I had to ask my dad for help with my necktie.

That said, it was unwise to take anything for granted around here, especially since we didn't know whether we'd make it to the next morning. Because of that, I quickly dressed myself and headed to the dining hall, hoping that all six of my surviving classmates would be there to greet me.

* * *

The seven of us gathered for breakfast. I wondered if I should have taken attendance, but by now, there were few enough of us that it was easy to do an informal silent headcount. It was easy enough that Sugiura-san did the same thing, and announced her conclusion before everyone else did.

"So, no one's killed anyone yet," Inoue-kun said. "Considering our track record, I'm honestly surprised."

"There's probably a few reasons for that, Shinichi-kun," Sae said. "First, any murder attempt requires planning, and any would-be culprit hasn't had much time for that. Second, with about 48 hours left, there's long enough left that the culprit could potentially wait for someone else to do the job for them. Third, killing is not to be taken lightly, and I'm sure most of us would hesitate to do so, whether out of the knowledge that it's wrong or fear that we might share our victim's fate."

"Right," Inoue-kun said. "But what if no one ends up committing murder?"

Sugiura-san then reached under the table and put a familiar-looking box- the one that contained the rope that she'd received as her murder weapon- out for everyone to see. The rope was a couple meters long- long enough to be tied into a noose, loop around someone's neck a few times, or bind someone's hands or legs (but probably not both).

"The solution should be obvious," Sugiura-san said. "Kill me- right here, right now- and Monokuma will have no reason to harm our loved ones."

The others gasped.

"Y-You can't be serious!" I said.

"I can, and I am," Sugiura-san said. "So what's it going to be, then? You can strangle me with this rope, or perhaps hang me. You can cut my throat with a knife from the kitchen. Or maybe you can bring one of your own weapons out to kill me in your own personal way. I won't resist, but I would appreciate it if you made it quick."

"No thanks," Tezuka-kun said. "In here, killing's a buy one, get one, deal, so whoever offs you is going along for the ride."

"Well, how about an alternative?" Sugiura-san said. "If you don't want to 'enjoy' Monokuma's special punishment, you could just kill yourself after you kill me. He asked for someone to get murdered, but does he care about the killer's fate?"

"That wouldn't work," Kagami-kun said. "Monokuma did ask us to try to get away with it, since he wants to see us desperately trying to survive."

"Exactly," I said. "That said, killing anyone here would simply give Monokuma what he wants. I may not know the solution to this problem but it certainly doesn't involve sacrificing anyone- even yourself."

Sugiura-san let out a long sigh.

"Fine," Sugiura-san said. "Forget I said anything. But if any of you are desperate enough to kill someone to save your family... it might as well be me."

Sugiura-san then ran off toward the baths, followed by Iwasawa-san, leaving us sitting in silence, wondering if Iwasawa-san planned on taking Sugiura-san up on her offer.

Shortly afterward, the two returned to the kitchen, much to our relief, even as Sugiura-san walked past us into the kitchen, took some rice balls and fruit, then left without saying a word.

"What was that about?" Kagami-kun said.

"I had a brief talk with Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa-san said, "and she agreed that she will not ask any of you to kill her."

"That's nice, I guess," Tezuka-kun said. "Of course, even if she was off her rocker enough to ask us to kill her, she at least was nice enough to talk to us first."

It was an uncomfortable reminder that inside this school, any of us was a possible killer, and just because Sugiura-san had been dissuaded from volunteering to sacrifice herself didn't mean that the other five had no intentions of killing someone to save their loved ones.

Iwasawa-san then prepared breakfast for the other five of us, even though we only ate because we were hungry. Any day could be our last inside this school, but the chances of that had significantly risen now that Monokuma had unveiled his latest motive.

* * *

I set out with Sae, hoping to find Sugiura-san and talk with her. We ended up finding Kagami-kun first, though, in the hallway on the first floor.

"Hello, Kagami-kun," I said. "Have you seen Sugiura-san?"

"Not since breakfast," Kagami-kun said, "although I haven't really been looking. Even assuming she doesn't try to kill me, I don't know what I could possibly say to her."

I had to admit that I was at a bit of a loss myself, and was only looking for Sugiura-san because I couldn't afford to let her run around thinking that murder was the only solution. My only hope was that she was reasonable enough to let me talk things out with her, so that I could better understand why she was so convinced that she had to die.

For now, though, I had something more relevant to ask Kagami-kun, since I'd just thought of it myself.

"Let me ask you another question," I said. "Do you still think she's the most likely to be the mastermind?"

Kagami-kun shrugged.

"I'm not about to rule her out now," Kagami-kun said. "She did propose that we kill her, but she must have known that no one would take her up on her offer. If someone had, they'd have been almost immediately convicted and executed in the next class trial, just like Katsura-san would have been if she'd killed you."

"That's possible," I said. "Of course, if the mastermind's out in the open, they're still in danger, aren't they?"

"They are," Kagami-kun said. "Then again, by now, most of us are probably careful, so the mastermind wouldn't let themselves be killed so easily. Why do you think the killing game's gone on this long?"

"Fair point, Kagami-kun," Sae said. "Of course, I can think of at least a few reasons."

"Me too," I said. "That said, Kagami-kun, you do seem like you understand how the killing game works fairly well."

"I guess it's just due to knowing human nature," Kagami-kun said. "The motives, the promise of graduation and the threat of being executed work by getting civilized people to see murder as the only choice they have. I don't know why Sugiura-san committed the murder that earned her the title of Ultimate Poisoner, but maybe her goal is to prove that anyone can become a murderer in circumstances like these."

I paused for a moment.

"That's possible," I said, "but why hasn't Sugiura-san killed anyone by now?"

"It's hard to say," Kagami-kun said. "Maybe she believes she'll get caught, or the entire point is that she's hoping someone else will snap and become a murderer."

We stood there in silence for a moment.

"Well, you can probably take this with a grain of salt," Kagami-kun said. "Sugiura-san's my top pick for being the mastermind, but she's not the only candidate- for all you know, I could be it... or it might be one of you."

"I know," I said. "Because of that, I know I can't afford to get too fixated on one person being the mastermind, even if I know I'll have to do something."

"True," Kagami-kun said. "Well, I trust you to make the right choice."

Kagami-kun then excused himself.

"Well, Sae?" I said. "What do you think?"

"It's hard to say," Sae said. "Kagami-kun does put forth a plausible motive for Sugiura-san to be the mastermind. Of course, if that's true, it's hard to believe she'd invite us to kill her with a motive this strong. Maybe she doesn't believe any of us would do it, but if she'd waited until the deadline was almost at hand, I think at least one of us would be desperate enough to kill her."

"I think so, too," I said. "Of course, Sugiura-san is the only one of us with an easily discernible motive for starting up the killing game... not that I understand the mindset of the person responsible for this."

"Neither do I," Sae said.

We set out to look for Sugiura-san once again. While weren't any more sure of what we'd do what we'd find her than Kagami-kun was, we knew that if we didn't do something, we'd probably have a murder on our hands before long. The only question would be whether Sugiura-san ended up being the victim or the killer.

* * *

We looked through the school, floor by floor, and found Sugiura-san in the chemical lab, gazing up at the chemicals on the shelves.

"There you are," I said. "Sae and I have been looking for you all morning."

Sugiura-san turned around slowly, as if to avoid startling us with any sudden movements.

"If you're worried I'm going to kill myself, relax," Sugiura-san said. "Even if Monokuma didn't close off the loophole, then I don't think any of these chemicals would kill me quickly. There's a few that are flammable, but I'm not about to set myself on fire after seeing Hoshino's execution."

"I guess that's a relief," Sae said. "Can we talk?"

Sugiura-san sighed, then shook her head.

"What's there to discuss?" Sugiura-san said. "Monokuma is still threatening our families unless we do something about it by the day after tomorrow... and by 'something' I mean kill someone."

"What about you?" I said. "If you're so convinced that killing is the solution, why not kill someone and let everyone else catch you?"

"Like Katsura did?" Sugiura-san said, her voice dripping sarcasm. "Some might say she chickened out, but I think she knew what she was doing- killing someone who couldn't fight back and didn't want to die- and realized she couldn't do it. Maybe I could've targeted the person I thought was the mastermind, but I'm not even 50% sure about Kagami."

Perhaps that was a drawback of this motive- that if someone became desperate enough to kill a random person to prevent Monokuma from going through with his threat, their target might just happen to be the mastermind. That said, perhaps the mastermind had some way of reducing the risk they assumed in a situation like this, even if I didn't know for certain what that method was.

"I'm a bit surprised," I said. "I thought you'd be a bit more sure about Kagami-kun being the mastermind."

"If I was 100 percent sure, I'd have killed him already," Sugiura-san said. "But in any case, you could see his actions as proof he's the mastermind or as proof he isn't. Maybe he's trying to suggest that I'm the mastermind to get suspicion off of him, or because he's trying to find the mastermind so he can get out of here. Maybe he's sitting on his ass and not doing anything because he doesn't want to kill anyone, or because he's the mastermind and he wants us to do the killing. I can't say."

Since Sae and I couldn't either, we remained silent.

"In any case," Sugiura-san said, "at least one of us will die in the next two days. If it has to happen, it might as well be the one no one would miss, right?"

Sugiura-san then left without saying another word or allowing us to answer the question.

"Well, that was unproductive," I said. "I was hoping either Sugiura-san or Kagami-kun would help give me a clue that would help identify the mastermind."

"Such is life," Sae said. "At a time like this, the mastermind needs only to wait and stay out of danger, and someone will eventually commit murder."

We decided to give up trying to get through to Sugiura-san for now, and instead focus on finding another way to defuse this crisis. Assuming that people wouldn't wait until the final morning to kill, we were getting close to halfway to our deadline. Not only had I been too distracted by the motive and Sugiura-san's recent actions to make much progress on finding the mastermind, but that wasn't a feasible goal, even under ideal circumstances. All the same, unless I found the mastermind or came up with another way to stop the killing game, someone's family would pay the price.

* * *

Iwasawa-san insisted on making lunch today, out of concern that Sugiura-san would poison the meal now that she wasn't concerned about getting caught. Sugiura-san only stopped in the kitchen long enough to get food out of the refrigerator and leave, only saying a curt hello to the two of us.

"Miss Miura, there's something I'd like you to hear while I still have the chance," Iwasawa-san said. "Throughout our time in this school, you've been a good leader to all of us and a true friend to me."

"I'm... touched that you'd say that, Iwasawa-san," I said, "but please don't act as though you're _going to_ die."

"Oh, I don't intend to kill anyone," Iwasawa-san said, "but considering what's at stake, a murder will certainly happen before the deadline, and I may be the victim."

I remained silent, unable to refute that statement and unwilling to affirm it. The one positive development that had happened since the last trial was our will to escape and find our families being restored, so what would Iwasawa-san do if her hopes were crushed?

"This may be a difficult question," Iwasawa-san said, "but have you ever thought about the possibility that you'll never see your home or family again?"

I nodded.

"I'm sure everyone here has at some point," I said, "and it's nothing short of _terrifying._ That's why Monokuma is offering the incentive to graduate, after all."

"True," Iwasawa-san said. "Even after all this time, I still miss my village, and wish I could just go home again. I would say that I wish I'd never come here, but..."

"But?" I said.

Iwasawa-san shook her head.

"That doesn't matter," Iwasawa-san said, "since there's no way to take back what's already happened. Now that I'm here, all I can do is what I believe to be right, no matter what it costs me."

Iwasawa-san quickly changed the subject to what she was preparing for lunch, and ignored any attempts to get the conversation back on track. While I couldn't glean much from her answer, I could tell that she'd been about to say something very similar to what Kagami-kun had. Perhaps there were those of us who'd wished we'd never come here, even knowing that we might very well have died in the Tragedy if we hadn't, but considering that we were lucky enough to have survived this long, what reasons would Iwasawa-san and Kagami-kun have to say such a thing? It was yet another question for which I could only imagine the answer.

* * *

Almost no one saw Sugiura-san all afternoon except for Iwasawa-san, who briefly saw her return to the dorms. Since then, Sugiura-san apparently locked herself inside her room, a strangely cautious gesture from someone who'd been willing to let us kill her.

At dinner, Iwasawa-san prepared a tray of food to leave outside Sugiura-san's door. After finishing my own meal, I walked with her to watch as she delivered the food, carrying my own plate with me as I did.

"Miss Sugiura, are you there?" Iwasawa-san said. "This is Iwasawa. I came to drop you off some dinner."

Sugiura-san came to the door and accepted the tray, while Iwasawa-san took back her own plate. Of course, after seeing me, Sugiura-san stood in the threshold, clearly unwilling to let either of us glance into, much less set foot, inside her room.

"Thanks, Iwasawa," Sugiura-san said. "Has anyone gotten killed yet?"

"No," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Miura is with me, and Miss Edogawa and the boys are in the dining hall."

Sugiura-san let off a faint chuckle.

"I suppose that's good news," Sugiura-san said, "but we all know that won't last, will it? Let me know if anything happens before tomorrow."

Sugiura-san bowed as deeply as she could while holding the tray, and then returned to her room, shutting the door behind her. Once she did, Iwasawa-san and I walked back to the dining hall.

"I didn't think you and Sugiura-san got along this well," I said.

"It's probably a stretch to say that we're friends," Iwasawa-san said, "but while we're two very different people, we do have an understanding of sorts. I understand that I'd probably do something similar if I were in her situation, and she believes the opposite is true."

"That's good," I said. "Of course, your life experiences probably shaped you into the people you are, didn't they?"

"They did," Iwasawa-san said. "My parents love me, and while my family isn't perfectly happy, it's probably happier than the Sugiura family. Before I left my village, I probably never would have been able to imagine what live was like for someone who didn't share my experiences, but after meeting you all, I've felt my horizons broaden."

I nodded approvingly. Perhaps our being trapped in this killing game had been a stroke of terrible misfortune for all of us concerned, with the possible exception of the mastermind, but our meeting was not. Most of those who'd survived this long had changed for the better in the process, and while I would likely bear the emotional scars from this traumatic experience for years to come, I believed I was no exception.

* * *

Shortly before the Night Time announcement, Sae and I bought each other snacks one last time.

"You know, Kaori, I've been thinking," Sae said. "I've been wondering what kind of person I would be if you weren't here."

I could think of a few depressing possibilities. Maybe we wouldn't have been able to solve the murders or maybe Sae wouldn't have changed at all, at least not for the better. I put those out of my head, knowing that while it was possible, those conclusions would be somewhat arrogant and a disservice to Sae. Anything was possible, and there was one possibility I wanted to believe more than any others.

"I'm sure you'd have changed, opened up and become more confident in yourself," I said. "This killing game forces us all out of our comfort zones, and those who don't break often grow stronger."

"You may be right," Sae said. "As I was growing up, I was always taught that authority figures deserved my respect and obedience, that I should put others before myself, and that some acts are wrong no matter what sort of justifications you may have for them. For the most part, I believed in those tenets, and tried to become a respectable young lady."

"I'd say you did fairly well on those regards," I said, "but what are you getting at?"

"Despite all my efforts to meet expectations, I always knew I wasn't perfect," Sae said, "and that my desires didn't always align with my obligations. I got started reading mystery novels because I didn't agree with Father's ban on them, and started writing them to prove him wrong. Even though some people don't think it's normal for girls to love girls, I personally can't agree with that. I was always polite and held a part of myself back, not just out of social decorum, but out of fear of being rejected."

"I know, I said. There was a time when I would've been surprised, but I knew Sae well enough that all this was characteristic of her.

"But every time I take a new step, I learn a little about myself," Sae said, "and my horizons broaden a bit. Perhaps I might have undergone that process if I'd never met you, but I think you're the best person to get me started down that road. No matter what happens, I will never forget that you helped me that much, and will always be grateful to you."

I smiled warmly.

"I'm... so happy to hear that, Sae," I said. "You've always been special to me, but I've usually been content with being just another anonymous fan, or simply your classmate or friend... until now. I'm glad that you think of me as special to you"

I stopped just short of confessing to Sae, but I didn't feel as disappointed with myself as the last time. Starting an actual relationship with her would take time we likely didn't have, but at the very least, we understood what we meant to each other. If Sae ended up dying, my heart would certainly break, but at the very least, I'd be able to remember her fondly, regardless of what she did before her death.

* * *

I went to bed feeling uneasy, unable to sleep until I was no longer able to stay awake. Every new day inside this school came with a sense of dread, as we didn't know what would happen or who would die, but with the deadline coming up first thing in the morning the day after tomorrow, death and disaster were almost a certainty tomorrow. Whatever their intentions, whether to escape or save our loved ones, the next blackened wouldn't wait until just before the deadline, and perhaps they'd only waited this long so that they could find out whose family would be the first on Monokuma's chopping block.

I could imagine this ending one of two ways- either someone would commit murder and be executed, or they'd get away with murder and the rest of us would be executed- but couldn't accept either. There had to be something I could try, however unlikely, to bring this killing game to an end without caving to Monokuma's demands. Perhaps I had to stop worrying about the chances of it succeeding and instead do everything I could until the time limit.

* * *

 **Monokuma Theater**

 _This killing game's almost over, isn't it? It's been a fun ride._

 _Some people would judge you lot as a bunch of sick bastards for reading and enjoying this, but not me._

 _Every show needs an audience, and the creators of the shows have to be grateful to those who watch them, even if their viewers aren't paying for the privilege._

 _So thanks, everyone! Thanks for supporting Danganronpa and Where Talent Goes To Die!_

 _What's that? You're not happy to hear that? Ah, well, it doesn't matter anyway- I still owe you guys a lot, so I had to say it._

 _Monokuma out._

* * *

 _The Final Day_

I woke up as usual, on a day that would not be like any of the others since I'd come to this school, not even the darkest days in which we had to deal with a murder and class trial.

We convened in the dining hall for breakfast, which ended up being a bit later than usual, and I counted all seven of us there. The moment I confirmed everyone else was still alive, Monokuma showed up.

"Looks like all of you bastards are still alive and kicking," Monokuma said. "Figures- high school students always procrastinate, even in times like these."

"You know us," Tezuka-kun said. "If we're the kind who put off our summer homework until just before we get back, then you can probably imagine how we feel about being given a deadline to kill someone. Even the honor student Mitamura waited until pretty much the last minute, and that was with her rep on the line."

While Mitamura-san technically had almost half a day left before Monokuma's deadline, because of her Night Time rule, there were less than three hours left for her to commit a murder, so dinner had been her last chance. Likewise, I knew that any would-be killers would probably act by dinner tonight, if not sooner.

"Well, I can give you a little incentive for that," Monokuma said. "Without further ado, I'll reveal who's going to buy it in 24 hours if you don't kill someone. It's..."

Monokuma trailed off long enough to make us wonder if he was trying to make himself seem dramatic or toy with us, but after almost half a minute, he finally finished his sentence.

"...the Miura family!"

My heart almost stopped as I heard my own family name, while Sae looked the most terrified I'd seen her since Katsura-san tried to kill me. The other three looked especially shocked, and the most alarmed of the lot besides Sae and I was Kagami-kun, of all people.

"Wh-Why Kaori?" Sae said.

"Because she got lucky so far in the motives," Monokuma said, "and because I wanted to see how your dear leader would respond to this one. Is Miura-san gonna sacrifice her family or kill one of her friends? I'm looking forward to finding out."

Monokuma then left, at which point everyone who hadn't finished eating stopped.

"So... what now?" Inoue-kun said.

"Hypothetically speaking, it should be obvious," Sugiura-san said. "Either one of us commits murder and then gets executed, or three innocent people die. That's a real no brainer, and I'm sure Miura knows which one to pick."

"Do _not_ take this lightly, Sugiura-san," Sae said. "Perhaps they may be Kaori's family and not yours, but-"

"But what?" Sugiura-san said. "Even if I sit around and wait for Miura's family to get executed, don't you realize that mine might be next? Or maybe yours? None of us are off the hook, here, even if Miura's unlucky enough to have her turn come up first."

"Enough!" I said. "There's no easy solution in this for me, since no matter what happens, at least one person I care about will die in the next 24 hours. Of course, I realize I'm not the only one in this situation, and anyone else would feel the same if Monokuma had chosen them."

I must have been trembling, since Sae looked at me with a concerned expression on her face, and Sugiura-san seemed unusually guilty.

"You're right," Sugiura-san said. "I'm sorry."

Both Sugiura-san and Sae stood up and bowed in apology, first to each other, and then to me.

"Let's take a deep breath and calm down," I said. "While it's true that I'm facing the same impossible choice that Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun did, and all of you may eventually have your turns, we have one small mercy that the two of them lacked. We can talk about it with our friends and come up with a solution together."

"That's true," Sugiura-san said. "Of course, as impetuous as my offer to let anyone who's willing to die kill me yesterday morning was, having someone commit a murder in front of everyone else was the only plan I could think of, short of finding the mastermind. As for that... good luck."

"Fair enough, Sugiura-san," I said, "but what would you say if I said I'd thought of a possible lead?"

Sugiura-san paused, speechless for a moment.

"I'm going to investigate that lead after breakfast, along with Sae," I said. "If it doesn't pan out, let's meet in the baths at 9 AM and discuss our next move there."

By now, everyone understood what this meant- a meeting in one of the few places without security cameras. I hoped that even under the circumstances, no one thought I was going to murder Sae, or at least trusted me enough to accept my own execution if it came to that.

As we ate a quick breakfast, I checked my watch, and saw that it was almost 8 AM. There wasn't much time, but I hoped that this plan, albeit a risky and impulsive one, would yield a clue of some sort and find the person responsible for this killing game before anyone else had to die.

* * *

Sae and I headed to the girls' bathroom in the dorms, partly for the sake of privacy, and partly because, well, I needed to stop there.

"I suppose there's no point in asking you if you're all right," Sae said as I washed my hands, "because I know you well enough to know that you're barely holding together right now."

"That's true," I said, "but I know that if I don't at least try do something, I won't be able to face my parents or sister again, whether in this life or the next."

While I still wasn't very religious, I had to admit that I could use divine intervention at this point. If nothing else, the idea of being able to see my family and classmates again in the afterlife was a comforting idea.

"Anyway, what do you have in mind, Kaori?" Sae said as I was drying my hands, clearly hoping to steer the conversation back into a more productive direction.

"It's more of a last-ditch attempt," I said. "You know how the control room seems to be Monokuma's headquarters?"

"I do," Sae said, "and also that the mastermind has apparently not set foot in there since the start of the killing game."

"Well, what if it was in danger of being destroyed?" I said. "If the mastermind saw the door blown open on the security cameras, they might come running. If we got a picture of them, we could expose their identity."

There were more holes in the plan than I could count, but I honestly didn't have anything better, at least nothing I could think up of on short notice. The longer I waited, the more likely it was that someone would commit murder before I could act.

"I see," Sae said. "Where do I come in?"

"If the worst happens, and Monokuma punishes me for breaking down a door, I'll need you to help identify the mastermind," I said. "That said, since I'm not picking a lock, I'm sure that I'll be able to exploit the loophole in the rules."

Sae nodded grimly, albeit not surprised. As disturbing as it was to hear me talk about the possibility of my own death, we knew that not all of us would make it through today.

"I suppose so," Sae said. "And what if this fails? What if no one shows up?"

"Then we may have to decide who has to die," I said. "Since it's my family, I might as well be the one, but..."

Sae shook her head.

"It's not such an easy thing to lay down your life," Sae said. "I'm sure all the blackened were scared in the end, as was Sugiura-san when she asked us to kill her. I don't want anyone here to think they have to die, you least of all."

I nodded.

"I know," I said. "Let's think of something together."

We then set out for the chemical lab. Perhaps my plan had little hope of working, but if anything could stop the killing game, I owed it to myself, the others and my family to try it.

* * *

Sae and I headed up to the chemical lab, and retrieved a book of matches, as well as some canisters of flammable chemicals. I was tall enough to to reach the high shelves from the floor, so I stood up and retrieved it, inspected it for the warning label, then took it with me.

While we were there, we saw a missing jar of chemicals from the same level as where I'd gotten my container of chemicals. There was also a chair, presumably from a nearby classroom, dragged over to where the missing jar came from.

"Looks like someone was here before us," I said. "But how long ago?"

"I'm honestly not sure," Sae said. "As far as I know, hardly anyone comes here, although we did see Sugiura-san here yesterday."

Ever since more of the school opened up, few people visited the areas that had been available for a long time, unless they had a use for them, such as in the case of Sae and I giving each other snacks. The chemical lab, however, had never seen much use, even when the third floor was available.

"We'll have to worry about that later," I said. "Let's head to the data center."

Sae and I quickly walked outside, and up to the top floor of the school.

* * *

After arriving outside the data center, I set the container near the door, after pouring out some of the chemicals to create a makeshift fuse that I could light from a safe distance away from the blast. I then struck a match and dropped it on the improvised chemical fuse, before Sae and I took cover in a nearby classroom. Seconds later, the flames reached the chemical container.

A deafening roar sounded as the improvised explosive went off. When the smoke cleared... the door still stood. The sprinklers above, seemingly ordinary fixtures that no one paid attention to, finally did their job and sprayed water on the fire, extinguishing it in moments before the door could be damaged.

"Oh, nice try, Miura-san!" Monokuma said as he appeared before us. "You're pretty clever to find a loophole in the rules, by blowing down a door rather than picking the lock. Too bad it's not gonna be that easy to unlock the door to the control room!"

"You're awfully calm," I said. "Aren't you worried about a fire spreading to the data center?"

"Not at all!" Monokuma said. "The door's fireproof, after all, and we' made sure the computers are protected. It would be a problem if a camera got destroyed, though, since then I'd have to punish you."

I sighed.

"Anyway, if you're worried about your family, it should be obvious what you need to do right now," Monokuma said. "Decide who you want to kill and how you're gonna do it... or your parents and big sister are gonna die."

We waited for a little while longer, hoping in vain for the mastermind to come running. Apparently, if they were connected to the system, they weren't concerned enough to come running. Perhaps it had been a bit too much to expect my Plan A to work, but how many plans would I be able to try before it became obvious that my family's survival required at least one of our deaths?

Sae, clearly noticing what I had on my mind, looked me in the eye and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You weren't wrong to try this, Kaori," Sae said. "Perhaps it didn't go as you hoped, but at the very least, you believed there was a way to solve this without murder."

"I know," I said, "but what if that ends up happening anyway?"

"Then everyone watching this, your family included, will realize that all of us did what we could to avoid having to take a life," Sae said. "Perhaps that outcome may help discredit whatever point Monokuma is trying to prove to the world."

One of many things that I'd learned over these past few days was that this killing game wasn't solely about us, or even our families. The world was watching us, waiting to see what choices we would make in this situation. Not all of us had chosen well, but those of us who were left could prove that even in a situation like this, people could choose what was right over what benefited themselves.

* * *

Before long, 9 AM rolled around, and we had to report in for our meeting, and we arrived a couple minutes late. While I didn't have much confidence in our chances of finding an alternative together, as long as there was time, we had to at least try something, and I believed that by working together, we could at least come up with a few ideas.

As Sae and I entered the baths, none of the others there seemed to notice us approaching, even though the room was quiet enough for them to hear our footsteps. Apparently, something more pressing had their attention.

As I counted only four other people besides myself and Sae, I wondered if someone hadn't showed up for the meeting, but the remaining person was present... in a way.

Iwasawa-san was lying face-down in the water, her ankles tied together with rope and her wrists handcuffed behind her back.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

That makes four consecutive female murder victims. Part of this is due to the fact that the first three characters to die were male, as well as the fact that there was no way that several of the girls- Akasaka, Yuuki and Iwasawa- would ever conceivably be killers.

If this were a game, Iwasawa and Sugiura would be unavailable for Free Time Events for the later parts of this chapter.

Next up is the investigation. Feel free to guess the killer, but be warned- it may not be as simple as you think.


	25. Chapter V, Part 4

_Deadly Life_

As Sae and I saw Iwasawa-san in the water, we realized what had happened. Like the last time we'd had a motive with a time limit, someone had given in and committed murder.

The boys and Sugiura-san seemed as calm as they could be considering the circumstances. While this reaction wouldn't be too out of character for Iwasawa-san's murderer, who was one of those four, that didn't account for the other three. Their initial shock and horror seemed to have passed, so they hadn't just discovered the body.

"What's going on?" I said.

"Sugiura asked us to come here," Tezuka-kun said. "It was a couple minutes before 9, but maybe her watch was fast, so we headed in and found Iwasawa like this."

"That's right," Inoue-kun said. "For some reason, there hasn't been a Body Discovery Announcement."

"There aren't any cameras in the baths," Kagami-kun said. "Obviously, Monokuma can't announce that the body's been discovered if he can't see it."

I remembered how Kurogane-kun had died in the baths, but a camera in the hallway had happened to catch sight of his body once Fukuda-kun walked into the bathroom, thereby becoming the third person to lay eyes on the body. For a moment, though, I had to ask myself; would Monokuma allow murders to go without a class trial if he couldn't see them? Or was there some other explanation this time?

"Or maybe Iwasawa-san isn't dead yet," I said. "Quickly, get her out of the water!"

Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun, probably the strongest of everyone who was left, lifted Iwasawa-san's body out of the water and lay it by the side of the baths. As they did, the key to the handcuffs fell out of her pockets, and Inoue-kun retrieved it, using it to unlock Iwasawa-san's handcuffs. Once Iwasawa-san was laid down on her back, Sugiura-san knelt down and attempted to resuscitate Iwasawa-san. After checking for Iwasawa-san's pulse, and apparently not finding it, Sugiura-san shook her head.

"It's too late," Sugiura-san said. "Whoever's responsible must have killed her at least five or ten minutes ago."

"Or maybe she killed herself," Tezuka-kun said.

"Are you stupid or something, Tezuka?" Sugiura-san said. "It's obviously murder! Why else would the killer handcuff her arms or tie her legs like that?"

"That's a good point, Sugiura-san," Inoue-kun said, "and as a Christian, Iwasawa-san believes that suicide is a sin. No matter how bad things got, she could have endured it, knowing that she'd go to Heaven if she died. At the very least, she wouldn't do something that she believed would send her to Hell."

Inoue-kun raised a fair point, but I remembered Iwasawa-san admitting that she'd been having a crisis of faith, no longer sure whether the Bible's teachings could help her in the killing game. Perhaps she no longer believed in her god, or perhaps she believed she'd sinned enough that she'd go to hell anyway. Apparently, Sugiura-san had the same idea, since she rolled her eyes.

"So she's not afraid to die?" Sugiura-san said. "I don't buy that for a minute. Nobody has absolute and unquestioning belief in anything, so there must've been at least a few times when Iwasawa doubted her own religion."

Despite being pure speculation, Sugiura-san's point left Inoue-kun at a loss for words, at least long enough for Monokuma to show up.

"Oh, there you are," Monokuma said. "You kids must be really eager to take a bath together, aren't you? So eager that Iwasawa-san didn't even wait to get undressed before getting... wait a minute..."

As the truth dawned on Monokuma, I became painfully aware of a flaw with clandestinely meeting in the bathroom. There wasn't a camera inside the baths, but there was one outside, so Monokuma could see us coming and going, even if he couldn't hear what we were talking about. Furthermore, by announcing the meeting in the dining hall (as well as in front of the mastermind), I'd inadvertently given Monokuma the time and location of our meeting.

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma said. "After a short period of investigation, a class trial will be held."

As ad-hoc as the Body Discovery Announcement seemed, we knew what it meant. Once again, we'd be investigating a murder, and finding out who kiiled Iwasawa-san. But how could we do so when even Monokuma didn't know? No one seemed willing to offer any suggestions at the moment.

"Anyway, now that I've got that out of the way, it's up to you bastards to find out who killed Iwasawa-san," Monokuma said. "Don't worry; now that a murder's been committed, I'm calling off the threat to your families... for now, at least. After all, it's time to worry about yourselves, isn't it?"

Monokuma's promise wasn't very reassuring. Not only had he provided no proof of his goodwill, he still held all the cards when it came to our loved ones. Of course, one thing was for certain- once again, if we didn't find the killer, then everyone else would perish.

"What about the Monokuma File?" I said.

"It's... a work in progress," Monokuma said. "I'll get it to you before the start of the class trial, but don't wait around for it, OK?"

I could barely contain my disappointment. While the Monokuma File often lacked critical information, it was often a valuable resource, both because of what it had and what it didn't have. Even if Monokuma kept his promise, we'd have to do as much as we could without this vital clue.

"Anyway, you should know that you don't have time to waste sitting around," Monokuma said. "Get cracking, and I'll let you bastards know when your time's up. Adios!"

Monokuma left once again. I hoped that if he was willing to keep his promise, then at the very least, he'd be occupied with making the Monokuma File, giving us more time to investigate. Of course, that was a fairly generous assumption.

"It's time for our investigation to begin," I said. "Since Sae and I are the last ones here, having been away from the dorms from the end of breakfast until now, could you please fill us in on what happened before you arrived?"

"All right," Kagami-kun said. "The three of us waited in the dining hall together, worried that someone might commit murder, and didn't leave until we headed for the baths. If I recall correctly, you and Edogawa-san left at about 8, right?"

"Almost on the dot," I said, "and we were together for the entire time until we got back here. What happened after we left?"

"At around 8:05 or so, Sugiura-san went back to her room," Kagami-kun said, "and around 8:10, after washing the dishes, Iwasawa-san headed to the baths. Around 8:30, I saw Sugiura-san leave the baths alone, at which point she headed back to her room. Around 8:55, Sugiura-san came to get us, at which point the four of us went in together and found Iwasawa-san's body."

None of the other boys, or even Sugiura-san, appeared willing to challenge Kagami-kun's times. Since there was a clock in the dining hall, they could easily have made note of the approximate time for each event he'd mentioned.

"I see," I said. "Kagami-kun, did you see anyone else enter or leave the baths?"

"I wasn't watching the door the entire time," Kagami-kun said, "so I thought Iwasawa-san had already left before Sugiura-san did, or before Sugiura-san even got there. Maybe someone else went in during those gaps- I didn't see Sugiura-san go in, after all."

"That's possible," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, Tezuka-kun and I didn't see anything you didn't."

Tezuka-kun nodded to concur. Assuming Kagami-kun was telling the truth, there were only two windows of opportunity for the murder to have been committed- between 8:10 and 8:30, or between 8:30 and 8:55. If it was the former, then Sugiura-san was definitely the culprit, and had been leaving the scene of the crime at 8:30. If it was the latter, which seemed less likely, then I couldn't imagine anyone else who didn't have an alibi and had been seen close to the baths. In any case, while Sugiura-san wasn't confessing, she didn't seem to have anything to say in her own defense.

It seemed fairly clear-cut, perhaps too good to be true. After all, Sugiura-san had been the apparently "obvious" culprit in Mizuhara-kun's murder, as well as for the following pair of murders, once we'd determined that Yuuki-san and Akasaka-san hadn't killed each other. Was someone trying to frame her once again, or was Sugiura-san truly the culprit this time?

"It seems pretty obvious right now," Tezuka-kun said. "If the three of us were just sitting there, and Miura was with Edogawa, it's got to be Sugiura, right?"

"Probably," I said, "but I'd rather not jump to conclusions. Let's look for more information before we officially accuse anyone."

The others nodded. Since the boys had apparently been just outside the crime scene, they were probably seemed like they'd be the most certain of Sugiura-san's guilt, so it was a relief to see that they weren't jumping to conclusions, either.

"I have a question," Inoue-kun said. "Since there aren't many of us left, should we post a guard or two at the crime scene?"

"Probably," Sae said. "We've already moved Iwasawa-san's body, but we should avoid any further alterations to her body or anything nearby."

I nodded. While Sae was right, and the scene wasn't the way it was when we'd found it, all of us remembered seeing Iwasawa-san in the water, so it wasn't as though pulling her out would cause any problems.

"It can't hurt," Sugiura-san san said. "I'll guard the crime scene with Edogawa."

"You?" Tezuka-kun said. "You're the prime suspect right now, you know."

"If that's true, then would you rather have me investigate and pretend to help out?" Sugiura-san said "No, I think I'm better here. Even if I were responsible, I don't think I'd be stupid enough to pull anything. If you're still worried, you can handcuff me just like if you'd placed me under arrest."

After taking a picture of Iwasawa-san's body, Sae knelt down and retrieved the handcuffs before standing up.

"Very well, Sugiura-san," Sae said. "Hold still, please."

Sae then handcuffed Sugiura-san's wrists behind her back as though arresting suspects was second nature to her. She then stashed the key in her skirt pocket.

"All done," Sae said. "With this, Sugiura-san cannot do anything to harm me or alter the crime scene. If I tried to alter the crime scene, she could report it, and if anything happens to her, I would be the only possible culprit. I trust no one has any objections?"

The others shook their heads.

"Good," Sae said. "I'll do what I can around here, and I'll count on the rest of you for the rest."

As the boys decided to fan out to search for any other clues (or possibly to go to the "little boys' room," since they hadn't had any opportunities for over an hour), I took a look around the crime scene, and found that apart from what I'd found on Iwasawa-san's body, there wasn't too much that was noteworthy.

"I don't see any signs of a struggle here," I said.

"Neither do I," Sae said. "Most of the murders involved the killers taking their victims by surprise, except for Katsura-san's attempt on your life. Yuuki-san was one of the few that could have fought back, but she went into shock after being stabbed."

"Are we forgetting the fact that it's really slippery in here?" Sugiura-san said. "Maybe after being handcuffed and tied up, Iwasawa slipped and fell in."

"I've noticed," Sae said. "You should be careful."

Sugiura-san nodded. With her hands cuffed, she couldn't steady herself or even fall properly. Maybe that was what happened to Iwasawa-san, but I doubted that the killer would leave Iwasawa-san's death purely to chance.

"Well, it's possible it would make it difficult for Iwasawa-san to get away," I said, "but it would also be difficult for the culprit to chase her."

"That's possible," Sugiura-san said, "or maybe Iwasawa didn't have the chance."

I knelt down and took another look at Iwasawa-san's body. From what I could gather, she seemed to have swallowed water, but there were no apparent injuries on her body. Rolling up her sleeves, however, I found what seemed like small cuts on her wrist, barely deep enough to break skin.

"Out of curiosity, Sugiura-san, how are your wrists?" I said. "Do the handcuffs hurt?"

"Not really," Sugiura-san said, "even if I _do_ have an itch on my nose that I can't scratch right now. Edogawa's a pro a this."

Sae nodded, relieved.

"That's good," Sae said. "I'm glad I didn't cause you any undue discomfort."

"Sure," Sugiura-san said. "Anyway, Miura, I take it you're not just asking to be nice, are you?"

"I noticed small cuts on Iwasawa-san's wrists," I said. "Maybe she struggled in her last moments."

"Probably," Sugiura-san said. "I'm sure she didn't want to die any more than the rest of us did."

Noticing a small bulge in the front right pocket of Iwasawa-san's overalls, I checked and found her room key and her student handbook, the two items she kept with her at all times. After showing them to Sae and Sugiura-san, I quickly put them back where I'd found them.

Having finished investigating the baths, I walked out into the locker room and found an unlocked locker with two items. One was a jar of chloroform that looked like it came from the chemical lab. The other was a nondescript white piece of cloth that could have come from anywhere, and seemed damp.

"I've found a possible piece of evidence," I said. "It's inside one of the lockers."

Sae and Sugiura-san walked over. They weren't too concerned about anyone messing with the crime scene, since anyone who wanted to get to the baths would have to pass through the locker room first.

"It looks like the culprit used a chloroform-soaked rag," I said. "With it, they could have rendered Iwasawa-san unconscious, and possibly drowned her."

"That's a pretty good guess," Sugiura-san said. "We don't know the cause of death, but I think that's a pretty safe assumption."

Sugiura-san was surprisingly cooperative considering the circumstances. Not only was she our prime suspect, but none of the information we'd gathered thus far had disproved that theory. Perhaps she'd look suspicious if she tried to stonewall the investigation, but assisting us wasn't helping her, either.

"I think that's all I can gather from the crime scene," I said. "I'll have to investigate the chemical lab, where the culprit most likely got the chloroform."

"Good idea," Sae said. "I remember seeing the chair pulled up to the shelf, so you might want to take a second look there."

I nodded, then set out to take a second look. On my way out, I decided to ask one last question that came to mind, knowing that I might not have time to get back to the crime scene.

"One more thing, Sugiura-san," I said. "Why did you 'volunteer' Sae to be your fellow guard?"

Sugiura-san shrugged. She and Sae got along reasonably well but weren't friends, so Sugiura-san probably had to have anticipated that some people would have found her request strange.

"I... I guess I'd feel more comfortable with another girl around," Sugiura-san said. "You know, if Edogawa felt the need to strip search me or something. Since you're the best at investigating, that only leaves her, right?"

I sighed. It was another obvious lie that, while not in the least believable, was clearly a sign that Sugiura-san had no intention of answering honestly.

"If you say so," I said. "What do you think, Sae?"

"I'm sure Sugiura-san has her reasons," Sae said, "even if I'm no more able to guess than you are. I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later."

"I see," I said. "I'll head to the chemical lab, and will come back as soon as I'm done with everywhere else."

As I left the baths, I couldn't help but feel a bit worried. Each murder was unique, but I noticed that all of them had their secrets hidden beneath what seemed to be obvious, secrets the culprits didn't want us to uncover. What would I discover once I delved into the mystery surrounding Iwasawa-san's death? Even though I had to find out, I wasn't sure I wanted to.

* * *

On the way to the chemical lab, I saw Tezuka-kun, who was searching for the murder weapon on the third floor. Since I didn't know when or whether I'd see him again before the trial, I decided to ask him a few questions while he waws there.

"I'm glad I found you, Tezuka-kun," I said, "I'd like to double-check your alibi."

"Like Inoue said, I was with him and Kagami the whole time," Tezuka-kun said. "Judging by everyone's alibis, it's probably Sugiura- unless you or Edogawa actually did it, that is."

"I can assure you the latter isn't the case," I said. "As I said earlier, Sae and I were together all morning."

Tezuka-kun nodded, then changed the subject.

"Anyway, Miura, I've got a question," Tezuka-kun said. "I'm not saying Iwasawa's death is a good thing, but aren't you at least a little relieved?"

"Why would I be?" I said. "Ten of us are now dead, and that number will go up to eleven- if not more- once the trial ends."

"I know," Tezuka-kun said. "But this time, Monokuma gave us a motive that forced us to act, or else our families would die- and yours would've been first. Someone knew we wouldn't be able to find another way out, and decided to kill so that Monokuma wouldn't go through with his threat. I don't think it makes what they did _right_ , but maybe it shows _why_ they did it."

"That may be true," I said, "but considering that no one has given up on leaving this school, it's possible that someone still wants to graduate."

"Hey, I never said I _knew_ what they're thinking," Tezuka-kun said. "If I thought the only way out was to kill someone, I'd choose the person most likely to be the mastermind- which sure as hell isn't Iwasawa."

I agreed. While the mastermind was almost certainly an accomplished liar, and it was possible that the Iwasawa-san I knew was a carefully crafted persona, she was the least likely suspect for the mastermind out of the seven students who'd been alive when we got up this morning.

"At this point, the reasons don't matter," I said. "Now that a murder has happened, we'll have to find whoever's responsible, or we'll all be executed... and who knows what'll happen to our families once Monokuma no longer needs them?"

"Gotcha," Tezuka-kun said. "Anyway, while I'm pretty sure it's Sugiura, I'm not 100 percent sure. I'll keep my mind open in case there's anything that might prove she couldn't have done it."

I nodded gratefully, then excused myself. While some of us had given in to temptation and committed murder for various reasons, most of us were relatively rational people, able to make the right choice. Because of that, I trusted my friends enough to believe that once I identified the culprit, they'd vote for the right person.

* * *

I checked the chemical lab, and took a look around. The lab looked the same as the last time Sae and I had been there, and I noticed the missing chloroform canister once again, as well as the chair nearby. There wasn't any apparent order to the chemicals that I could decipher, but the chloroform was the only chemical missing apart from what I'd removed, and the chair was right next to that spot.

Performing a brief experiment I stood up on my tiptoes and reached for the shelf, and realized that I could have reached the chloroform from where I was standing on the floor.

Shortly afterward, Inoue-kun arrived.

"Oh, hello, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said.

"Hello, Inoue-kun," I said. "Just checking, but were you with Tezuka-kun and Kagami-kun the entire time between breakfast and the murder?"

"We were," Inoue-kun said. "None of us got up, not even to use the bathroom."

That made sense, since three people together was a magic number of sorts in a dangerous time like this. If any one of the boys had tried to kill one of the other two, the third person could have noticed that and tried to stop him, or at least served as a witness. If any of them went off on their own to use the bathroom, they stood the risk of being killed while they were alone, just like Kurogane-kun had been.

"I'm curious about something," Inoue-kun said. "Did you and Sae come here before now?"

"We did," I said. "We took some chemicals for an improvised explosive to destroy the door. We didn't notice that the chloroform was missing back then until we found it at the crime scene, and realized the killer probably used it to render Iwasawa-san unconscious."

"I see," Inoue-kun said. "Whoever did this must have taken it out in advance. This could only have been a premeditated killing."

I nodded in agreement as I thought back to what had happened yesterday.

"Sae and I spotted Sugiura-san in here yesterday, some time after breakfast," I said. "She left without taking anything, but maybe she was scouting the place out."

"Probably," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, she must not have wanted to let either of you find out what she wanted."

If this was true, and Sugiura-san was indeed guilty, then she had probably been planning this murder since yesterday morning.

"Speaking of which, Inoue-kun, I said, "could you please try to reach that shelf right there, from the floor?"

Inoue-kun nodded, then reached for the shelf, succeeding fairly easily. Since he was the tallest of us now that Iwasawa-san was dead, his success was only natural.

"Looks like I can do it," Inoue-kun said. "Of course, since Sugiura-san's probably the only one who's too short to reach the shelf, I'm guessing that doesn't prove much, does it?"

"Actually, it does," I said. "She's the only one who would have needed the chair to reach the shelf, so this is yet another clue implicating her."

"Ah," Inoue-kun said. "Maybe that's why she didn't get it when you and Sae found her there- she couldn't reach it."

"Possibly," I said. "I think we're getting closer to figuring out how the murder was committed."

With that in mind, it was likely that Sugiura-san had removed the chemicals at some point during Night Time, when no one was watching. That was little more than a theory and didn't prove anything even if it was a fact, but at least I had a somewhat better understanding of how things happened. Of course, it almost seemed too obvious that Sugiura-san would leave the chair behind if she'd had ample opportunity to put it back where she'd found it, so I still had to keep an open mind.

"One more thing," Inoue-kun said. "I stopped by Iwasawa-san's room earlier, and noticed that her door was unlocked. Maybe you can find something there."

"I'll take a look," I said. "Thanks, Inoue-kun; I've got to get going."

As Inoue-kun stayed behind to take another look in the chemical lab, I hurried downstairs to Iwasawa-san's dorm room.

* * *

I stopped by Iwasawa-san's room, and found that the door was already unlocked, as Inoue-kun had said. This was certainly strange, considering that the key had been in her pocket, but perhaps she'd simply forgotten to lock her door that morning.

I looked around in her room and found the box her handcuffs came in open on her desk, as well as the bag. Apparently, she hadn't disposed of either after the incident with Katsura-san, even though everyone now knew that she'd opened her box.

I found her ransom notepad on the nightstand next to her bed, on top of her copy of the Bible, and I turned it on. As I viewed the contents, my eyes widened in horror. Virtually all of Iwasawa's family, from her parents to her grandparents and uncle, was listed as "Deceased," and there was only one survivor.

 _Yoichi Arakawa (Distant relative): Alive, Hostage._

I was speechless for a moment, as I realized that Iwasawa-san's worst fears had been confirmed. Most of us had at least a few immediate family members confirmed to be alive and held hostage, but Iwasawa-san's hostage was someone so distantly related they'd probably never met.

As for Arakawa-san, while they said blood was thicker than water, blood thinned the more distantly one person was related to you. I loved my parents and was grateful to them for bringing me into the world, but I wasn't very close to my father's mother, who, in turn, cared very little for her daughter-in-law. Iwasawa-san had most likely never met Arakawa-san, and while she wasn't callous enough to let him die, she would likely be broken by the knowledge that a stranger was the only family she had left.

For a moment, a terrible possibility about the circumstances behind Iwasawa-san's death came to my mind, but I quickly put it out of my head. My job was to prove _who_ killed her, with the questions of when and how being only relevant inasmuch as they helped prove the killer, and the question of why being a distant fourth. At this point, I had a possible answer, and now I needed to make sure it was the right one.

* * *

Since I was out of places to investigate, I decided to rejoin Sae and Sugiura-san in the baths, since I had a few questions for them. I wanted to see if they'd noticed anything else, ask Sugiura-san more about her actions over the past few days, and also ask her if Iwasawa-san had shared any information from her notepad.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do any of that, as the monitors came on while I was walking through the dorms.

"Time's up!" Monokuma said. "By now, you know where to go, so I'll see you at the elevator."

At that point, Kagami-kun came up to me.

"Ah, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "Are you heading to the baths?"

"I was," I said, "but I'm out of time for the investigation, so I've got to head to the elevator."

"I see," Kagami-kun said. "Before you do, maybe we could swing by the baths and fetch Sugiura-san and Edogawa-san? I'm not sure they heard the announcement."

I nodded, then walked over, and found the other girls where I'd left them. Sugiura-san had sat down for a moment, even though the floor of the baths wasn't exactly comfortable.

"The investigation period's over," I said. "We'll need to go to the courtroom."

"Got it," Sugiura-san said. "Let's get this over with."

Sae nodded, and the two of us helped Sugiura-san to her feet.

"All right," Sae said. "Oh, and Kaori?"

Sugiura-san immediately shot Sae a glance that caused her to stop short, not answering her own question.

"Yes, Sae?" I said.

"Sorry, it's nothing," Sae said. "It's just that I believe you can find the culprit."

I nodded gratefully as the four of us began the short walk to the elevator. There were many things I'd failed to accomplish, but if nothing else, I could show that Sae's faith in me was not misplaced.

* * *

The four of us met up with Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun in front of the elevator. We also saw Monokuma waiting there, in person this time.

"There you are," Monokuma said. "You'll be pleased to hear that I'm finally done with the Monokuma File."

Monokuma then handed us the information. I read it aloud, even knowing that it would likely reveal very little about the case.

 _Monokuma File 5_

 _The victim is Momo Iwasawa, the Ultimate Farm Hand._

 _The body was discovered in the baths._

 _The approximate time of death is between 8:10 and 8:55 AM._

 _The victim has some small cuts on her wrists, but no other wounds are noticed on her body._

"That isn't very helpful," I said. "We already know everything in here, so any one of us could have written this."

"Then you probably should've done just that!" Monokuma said, raising his paw, claws out, in anger. "Of course, 'the Miura File' doesn't quite have the same ring to it."

I let off a soft chuckle at the idea of the file being named in my honor. I knew I'd likely never be famous enough to earn something like that, but if I did, that wouldn't be my first choice.

"By the way, Sugiura-san," Monokuma said, "you can take off your handcuffs. Because of the rule I added after the third trial, nobody has to worry about any horseplay in my courtroom."

"Easy for you to say," Sugiura-san said with a bitter laugh. "I'm the Ultimate Waitress, not the Ultimate Magician. Edogawa, if you'd be so kind?"

Sae then unlocked and removed Sugiura-san's handcuffs, earning a "Thanks," from Sugiura-san.

"Well, it's about time," Monokuma said. "I'll see you in the courtroom."

Monokuma left, and moments later, the elevator opened. Just before we boarded, Sae walked up to me and spoke in a whisper.

"So, Kaori," Sae said. "Have you found out anything that would indicate the culprit's identity?"

"I'm fairly sure it's Sugiura-san," I said, "but a part of me worries that it seems a bit too obvious."

"Maybe it does," Sae said, "but that doesn't necessarily mean your conclusion is wrong. If you consider every piece of evidence and think logically, I'm sure you'll find the right answer."

The six of us boarded the elevator once again, and rode down in silence. By now, all of us were accustomed to dreading the outcome of the trial, and wondering which of us wouldn't be around for the ride back. Perhaps the answer seemed more obvious this time, but very few things were as they seemed in this school.

I thought about the possibility Tezuka-kun had raised- that the killer had acted so that we wouldn't have to watch our loved ones die. In theory, it was a good plan- sacrificing two people would save many other lives, and it wasn't unlike how we'd sacrificed the blackened each time- in keeping with the idea of putting the needs of the many over the few. In practice, though, the dead never came back, and "the many" decreased each time we had a trial. In our first trial, fourteen lives were at stake, and in this trial, the number had decreased to five.

The victim was Momo Iwasawa, the Ultimate Farm Hand. She'd come a long way from home, but she had many of the same values we held dear- kindness, loyalty and honesty. She'd respected Mitamura-san, and had been deeply shaken by her betrayal, but since I became leader, Iwasawa-san had been a loyal assistant, not to mention a true friend. And now, she was dead...

The harsh but simple truth was that Iwasawa-san's death had stopped Monokuma from carrying out his threat against our loved ones, but it had also brought us into yet another class trial that no one in our class wanted... no one except the mastermind. Of course, we couldn't do what we wanted here, and just as the killer had done what they thought was necessary, for our sake or for theirs, I would do what I must and uncover their identity.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the culprit. Do you think Sugiura is guilty? Or is it possible that the truth is more complex than it initially seems?

Next up is the trial.


	26. Chapter V, Part 5

_Class Trial_

We returned to the courtroom, which now had Fukuda-kun and Iwasawa-san's portraits, the former featuring an X composed of two crossed climbing ropes. The walls were mostly lavender in color.

"You guys made it to the fifth trial, so you should be pretty good at this by now," Monokuma said after we'd taken our seats, "because you know what happens if you don't find the right culprit, don't you?"

"We do," Sugiura-san said. "You've made the stakes abundantly clear."

"Good to hear that," Monokuma said. "There aren't any practices or dress rehearsals in this school. Each trial is a battle for survival between the blackened and the spotless in which the loser dies- it wouldn't be any fun any other way."

While I knew that as well as everyone else who was left, it was a bit of a sobering reminder. Since the motive had been announced two days ago, we'd mainly been worried about our families, and to a lesser extent, one of us getting murdered by a desperate classmate, and less about what would happen if we found ourselves in another class trial. Now that we were in a class trial, our lives were on the line once again.

Of course, Tezuka-kun seemed surprisingly calm. He knew as well as the rest of us did that if we failed to convict the blackened, he and the rest of the spotless would die, so perhaps he was sure that we wouldn't fail.

"Got it, but this trial's just a formality, isn't it?" Tezuka-kun said. "We already know Sugiura did it, right?"

Sugiura-san chuckled bitterly, apparently neither afraid nor angry.

"Interesting," Sugiura-san said. "So you're jumping on the bandwagon and accusing me too, Tezuka? The last two people who tried that turned out to be the killers, so maybe _you're_ the culprit this time."

"Who else could it be?" Tezuka-kun said. "Everyone else has an alibi, apart from you, and Kagami saw you leaving the baths. You're the only one who could've killed Iwasawa."

"It's true that the circumstances make her suspicious," Kagami-kun said, "but we should still investigate the murder and determine how it was committed."

The others nodded to concur, including Sugiura-san, who quite possibly thought this would give her a chance to prove her innocence. In any case, since we only had one chance to guess the blackened, I decided to make sure we were as certain as possible by the time we cast our votes.

"I agree," I said. "First, we'll need to establish how Iwasawa-san was killed."

"Based on my preliminary investigation, I believe she was drowned," Sae said. "Not only did we find her lying face down in the baths, but she'd swallowed water. I understand she'd been in there for some time once Sugiura-san and the boys found her, wasn't she?"

"She was," Inoue-kun said. "You saw that too, didn't you, Kagami-kun, Tezuka-kun?"

Kagami-kun nodded, and while Tezuka-kun followed suit, he seemed a bit hesitant.

"Yeah, but are you sure, Edogawa?" Tezuka-kun said. "Maybe she got poisoned and was put in the water after she died."

Sae shook her head. While it was still unclear whether Iwasawa-san's cause of death would make any difference when it came to finding her killer, it was best to nip any possible misunderstandings in the bud.

"She couldn't have been poisoned," Sae said. "Iwasawa-san was in charge of preparing breakfast, as usual, this morning, so she couldn't have ingested it in her food. There are no signs that a syringe was used, so she couldn't have been injected with any chemicals."

"Does anyone have a syringe as their weapon?" Sugiura-san said. "Or could anyone get one?"

"I believe Mizuhara-kun did," I said, "but he's dead now. I don't think there were any syringes in the nurse's office."

The others nodded to concur. While the nurse's office was fairly well-equipped, it was mainly for minor injuries. Anyone whose situation was critical would likely be rushed to the hospital... and in the killing game, they'd be out of luck, like Mizuhara-kun had been when his "rescuer" had betrayed him.

Tezuka-kun, however, didn't seem entirely convinced. He still seemed to be sure that Sugiura-san was the culprit, but since that was solely based on Sugiura-san's lack of an alibi, it wasn't too surprising that he wasn't sure how she'd killed Iwasawa-san.

"What about the container of chemicals in the locker?" Tezuka-kun said. "Maybe that did the job."

"It did facilitate her murder," I said, "but it wasn't the cause of her death. The chemical in question, chloroform, was poured on a rag. Said rag was then placed over Iwasawa-san's nose and mouth to render her unconscious. Once Iwasawa-san had passed out, the culprit must have put her in the baths so that she'd drown."

"But wouldn't Iwasawa-san come to once she started drowning?" Inoue-kun said. "It wouldn't be too hard to get out of the water, considering how shallow it was."

"You're right about that," I said, "which was why the culprit handcuffed her and tied her legs, presumably while she was unconscious."

"That does seem most likely," Kagami-kun said, "but are you certain that she was rendered unconscious before she was restrained?"

I shrugged. This was one of those details about the crime that was difficult to know if I hadn't seen- or committed- the murder, so I could only guess.

"It does seem to make more sense," I said. "While it would be possible to hold her down long enough to handcuff her, it would be difficult for any one person to have tied her legs together while she was resisting, even if her hands were cuffed."

"Any one person?" Kagami-kun said. "Maybe multiple people did it."

"Who, exactly?" I said. "There were three groups- Sae and I, Sugiura-san, and you and the other two boys."

Kagami-kun didn't immediately respond, making me wonder if that was a serious suggestion or if he was just throwing things out to see what stuck. The latter wasn't necessarily a bad thing in class trials, but considering that our time was limited, we couldn't afford to waste it discussing possibilities.

Luckily for Kagami-kun, Sugiura-san picked up the slack.

"I think I know who might have done it," Sugiura-san said. "Iwasawa's really strong, but she can't hold off multiple people at once. Maybe Inoue, Tezuka and Kagami ganged up on her, knocked her out with the chloroform-soaked rag, slapped her in handcuffs and held her under the water until she drowned."

"I'm sorry, but that's not true," Inoue-kun said.

"That didn't happen," Kagami-kun said.

"No freakin' way," Tezuka-kun said.

"So you're all on the same page, huh?" Sugiura-san said. "Maybe you're trying to cover for each other?"

"Under Monokuma's rules, an accomplice can't graduate," I said, "so they couldn't cover for each other. If the other two boys knew the culprit's identity, they'd sell him out in order to save themselves."

"Right, but wouldn't the blackened point fingers to save their own hide?" Sugiura-san said.

I shook my head.

"Let's say Inoue-kun is the culprit," I said. "If the culprit is narrowed down to one of the three boys, he'd accuse Tezuka-kun or Kagami-kun to save himself, while the other two would point their fingers at him. There's only one correct answer for the blackened, so the two spotless would agree on it."

"And what about you or Edogawa?" Kagami-kun said.

"We have alibis," Sae said. "Kaori and I were together from when breakfast ended to when we discovered Iwasawa-san's body."

I took a deep breath. Under the circumstances, only one person besides the victim did not have an alibi at the time of the crime. I wished there was more evidence to accuse this person, but for now, I had to name them so that the trial could move forward.

"I believe there is only one possible culprit at the moment," I said. "It's you, Sugiura-san."

Sugiura-san narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

"Et tu, Miura?" Sugiura-san said. "I suppose this is solely because I don't have an alibi, isn't it?"

"That's not all," I said. "You're also the only one who was seen going into the baths. Since none of the rest of us went in there until our meeting time, you're the only person who was at the crime scene at the time of the murder."

"I agree, but something's odd," Inoue-kun said. "Iwasawa-san was the one who invited Sugiura-san in, wasn't she? And Sugiura-san followed her in, right?"

I nodded twice.

"Yes, and yes," I said. "What's the problem?"

"Simple," Inoue-kun said. "Why would Iwasawa-san invite her own killer into a place where no one would see her being murdered?"

"Perhaps Iwasawa-san was simply looking for a private conversation and didn't expect anything," I said.

Inoue-kun shrugged.

"Maybe," Inoue-kun said, "but I'm not sure Iwasawa-san trusted Sugiura-san enough to agree to her invitation without asking any questions."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Inoue-kun!" Monokuma said. " _If_ Sugiura-san did indeed follow Iwasawa-san into the baths, I didn't see what happened there on the cameras. I've got a pretty good idea of whodunnit, though, so there's only one question- do you?"

In theory, Sugiura-san, or anyone else, could have committed an unsolvable murder that way, but I doubted they would do such a thing. If they wanted to graduate, they'd need Monokuma to give them the "credit" for the murder so they could become the blackened. If they wanted a murder to appease Monokuma, then perhaps Monokuma would need a culprit, since he enjoyed the executions.

"So at this point, only Sugiura-san knows why Iwasawa-san came with her," Inoue-kun said. "Sugiura-san, would you please tell us?"

Sugiura-san shot Inoue-kun a withering glare.

"I'll take that as a no," I said. "It's entirely possible she's staying silent in order to avoid incriminating herself."

"Believe what you want," Sugiura-san said. "You don't have enough evidence to convict me, anyway, even if I don't have an alibi between 8 and 9 AM. Besides, what motive would I even have for killing Iwasawa?"

I had to admit that Sugiura-san had a point, and it was possible we were going down the wrong path entirely.

"At breakfast yesterday, you invited someone to kill you," I said, "presumably so that Monokuma wouldn't go through with his threat. When no one took you up on your offer, you decided to murder someone, didn't you?".

Sugiura-san looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. Since not all of us were entirely convinced of her guilt, her plan was to fight as long as she could, knowing that if she didn't do something, the trial would end, and her life with it.

"Maybe," Sugiura-san said, "but let's assume I'm the culprit. If I cared enough about you lot to die for you, then I'd have confessed by now, wouldn't I?"

"Or maybe it's your family," Inoue-kun said. "While Fukuda-kun felt guilty about accidentally killing Katsura-san and endangering us, he couldn't confess out of fear for his family."

Sugiura-san laughed out loud.

"I know we haven't talked much, Inoue, but you seriously need to get a hint," Sugiura-san said. "Even if I don't care much for you lot, do you think the assholes in my family are worth sacrificing any of us for them?"

This was yet another in a string of obvious lies. Shortly after the motive, Sugiura-san had admitted that she hadn't had a good relationship with her family, but she insisted that she refused to let them die. Confronting her on it wouldn't do any good, so I decided to change tack.

"There's another thing that I noticed at yesterday's breakfast," I said. "You brought your own murder weapon, a rope, and encouraged us to use it to kill you. You could have used that rope to bind Iwasawa-san's legs."

"I thought no one was dumb enough to use the weapon they got to commit murder," Sugiura-san said.

"Who knows?" Inoue-kun said. "Not everyone showed us their weapon. I got a lead pipe, so I was a bit worried that I'd be suspected if I showed it while we were investigating Kurogane-kun's death- he died of blunt force trauma, after all."

So that was why Inoue-kun made up an excuse back then. Perhaps it might have been better if he'd cooperated, since he could have proven that he'd never used the pipe, but there was no use regretting what had already happened.

"Well, I'm not like you, Inoue," Sugiura-san said. "You do remember that I showed all of you my weapon during the first trial, right?"

"So did Katsura-san," I said, "and two and a half weeks later, she'd tried to kill me with the steak knife she received from Monokuma. In any case, I suppose everyone remembers Sugiura-san showing us a rope yesterday morning, if not at the first trial, right?"

The others nodded.

"Well, where'd I get the chloroform?" Sugiura-san said.

"The chemical lab, obviously," I said. "When I went there earlier, I saw something missing, and some trace someone had been there, but didn't think much of it at the time. It's obvious that someone came in before we arrived."

"When was that?" Sugiura-san said.

I paused to think for a moment.

"Probably before 9 AM," I said, "and considering that we were together for much of the morning, it probably happened before breakfast... assuming that it happened on the day of the murder at all."

"That sounds likely," Sae said. "If Sugiura-san came up with the murder scheme after breakfast yesterday, it's possible that she obtained the chemicals between then and when she killed Iwasawa-san, most likely at night time."

I wished I'd kept a closer watch over the chemical lab, but I was once again reminded of how many places there were to guard, and how few people were left. In any case, Sae's theory suggested that Sugiura-san's plan was thought out in advance, rather than something she came up with after she'd heard that my family would be the first to die.

"What makes you think I stole the chemicals?" Sugiura-san said. "Apart from my title of Ultimate Poisoner?"

"I saw you investigate the chemical lab when the third floor opened," I said, "and Sae and I also saw you in there yesterday morning. It's possible that the latter time, you came there to get the chloroform, but saw us and decided to come back when no one was watching."

Sugiura-san scoffed.

"Possible, yes," Sugiura-san said, "but it's also possible someone else took the chemicals."

"I'll admit that's true," I said, "but I found a chair pulled up to the shelf, near where you appeared to have gotten the chloroform. As the shortest person in this class, you're the most likely to have needed the chair as a stepping stool."

"What about you?" Sugiura-san said.

"I'm 169 centimeters tall," I said, "and I was able to reach the chloroform from the floor. Sae's slightly shorter than I am, but I think she wouldn't have had any more trouble with that. As for the boys, Kagami-kun's the same height as me, and the other two are taller, so you're the only one who couldn't have reached it without something to give you a boost."

Sugiura-san was speechless, clearly not having anticipated that she'd left such a large hole in her plan.

"Just checking," Kagami-kun said, "but would it be possible for someone else to use Sugiura-san as a patsy to deliver them the chloroform?"

"As if I'd believe them," Sugiura-san said. "I'd never give anyone a dangerous chemical like that without at least asking a few questions."

"Exactly," Sae said. "Sugiura-san is not nearly trusting enough to do a favor like that for someone. She wouldn't have to be the Ultimate Poisoner to know what they'd use chloroform for, so she'd never deliver something like that to a would-be murderer, even if she wasn't the target."

Kagami-kun didn't seem especially convinced, although he didn't argue that point.

"So that accounts for the chloroform and rope," Kagami-kun said, "two out of three of the items used in Iwasawa-san's murder. What about the handcuffs?"

"Iwasawa-san lent me the handcuffs when we were searching for Katsura-san," Sae said, "and I returned them when we parted ways for the night. It's possible she would have loaned them to Sugiura-san if Sugiura-san had asked."

"That's right," Sugiura-san said. "After all, Mitamura did trick Iwasawa into handing her the weakness notepad while pretending to fix it."

"And Iwasawa-san's room was unlocked when I checked it," Inoue-kun said, "so it's possible that Sugiura-san retrieved the handcuffs from the room."

While that point had seemingly tied up the loose ends, Kagami-kun frowned skeptically. His testimony had helped us prove that Sugiura-san was the only viable suspect, so what additional proof did he want?

"While it's true that a lot of evidence points to Sugiura-san being the culprit," Kagami-kun said, "one thing doesn't add up. How could she possibly hold Iwasawa-san down long enough to sedate her with the chloroform rag? She's not strong enough to restrain Iwasawa-san, or tall enough to easily hold the rag over Iwasawa-san's mouth."

While Sugiura-san was, under the circumstances, the only real choice for the culprit, I couldn't easily deny what Kagami-kun had said. Sugiura-san was, by far, the shortest of us, while Iwasawa-san was the tallest. As for muscle, while Sugiura-san wasn't especially strong, Iwasawa-san had gotten quite a workout from working in the fields, probably getting as strong as a girl like her could get without going to the gym. Because of that, I knew that I would probably have to rethink some of my assumptions before I could sum up how Sugiura-san had killed Iwasawa-san.

That said, something didn't entirely seem right about what Kagami-kun had said. For most of the trials we'd been in, he'd been relatively quiet, only speaking up when there were fewer people around. His deductions had helped give us potentially workable theories, and sometimes moved things forward, but had never shaken our understanding of the case like this one had.

"Those are good questions," I said, "but what exactly are you getting at?"

"I'm saying it's possible she didn't do it alone," Kagami-kun said, "and that one of us is her accomplice. That person might have gone in after Iwasawa-san entered the bath, and left at some point before we decided to meet up."

"Maybe," Tezuka-kun said, "but if Sugiura's the murderer, all we have to do is vote for her, right?"

"That's true," Kagami-kun said, " _if,_ of course, she's the one who murdered Iwasawa-san. If she isn't, then her accomplice will go free and we'll all be executed if we pick her."

I paused for a moment.

"That would depend on who was responsible for Iwasawa-san drowning, wouldn't it?" I said. "Whoever held Iwasawa-san underwater would be the killer, not necessarily who drugged her, right?"

"I believe so," Kagami-kun said, "but considering that Sugiura-san's physical strength is not adequate to restrain Iwasawa-san, it's unlikely that her accomplice would have trusted her with the task of holding her underwater. Therefore, the accomplice would have become the blackened, and thus the person we need to identify."

Sae shook her head.

"If Sugiura-san had an accomplice, then she'd have sold them out by now," Sae said, "if only to make us doubt whether she was the killer. As we've discussed before, accomplices can't graduate, and Sugiura-san being convicted would result in her death regardless of whether she's the culprit."

"All of us are aware of that," Kagami-kun said. "Besides, don't you see that Sugiura-san has given up on survival? She asked us to kill her yesterday morning. She clearly wouldn't mind being executed as part of the plan, whether for failing to uncover the blackened or as the blackened herself."

"If I wanted to die that badly, I'd have hanged myself in my room two nights ago," Sugiura-san said. "Besides, like I said, I don't care enough about any of you that I'd give my life, much less everyone else's lives, for that person."

I sighed. Sae and Kagami-kun were clearly at an impasse, unwilling to accept each other's arguments.

"All this is just speculation," I said, "since while Sugiura-san _might not_ have been able to kill Iwasawa-san alone, she _couldn't_ have gotten anyone's help. Apart from Sugiura-san, everyone else has an alibi for the time of the crime."

"What if one of our alibis doesn't hold up?" Kagami-kun said. "What if one of us is lying to protect the possible accomplice?"

"It can't be any of the guys," I said. "After all, the three of you saw each other, as we explained earlier. As for Sae and I..."

I stopped short, realizing what Kagami-kun was implying... and not liking it at all.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, Miura-san?" Kagami-kun said. "I believe Sugiura-san's accomplice, as well as the possible killer... is most likely Edogawa-san. And I also believe that if anyone is willing to lie to protect her... it would be you. After all, with your family as the hostages, she'd likely commit murder to save your loved ones, and you might lie in order to ensure that she graduates and survives, since she's the person you'd most likely be willing to die to protect. Of course, it could be the other way around."

"Th-That isn't possible," I said. "I hadn't let Sae out of my sight since breakfast."

"Kaori's right," Sae said. "You saw us leave for the school together, didn't you?"

"I did," Kagami-kun said, "but as I said earlier, I wasn't watching the baths the entire time. It's possible that at least one of you slipped into the baths in order to help Sugiura-san with the murder, and left before she did. The only question is who."

"But isn't that a bit too convenient?" I said. "You happened to catch a glimpse of Sugiura-san leaving the baths but didn't spot her accomplice, did you?"

Kagami-kun nodded.

"I did," Kagami-kun said, "but it wasn't as though I was specifically looking for the murderer to emerge, since I didn't know Iwasawa-san was dead until I went to the baths. Besides, if the accomplice moved quickly and quietly, they could get out of sight without being spotted leaving the baths. What's your point?"

"My point is that if Sae was the killer and Sugiura-san was her accomplice, Sae's plan would hinge on us convicting Sugiura-san," I said. "Because of that, the plan would be ruined if Sae was spotted leaving the crime scene at any point. It simply isn't plausible that if Sae and Sugiura-san were in cahoots, they'd leave something like that purely up to chance."

"Maybe not," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, Edogawa-san's alibi rests purely on your testimony. Since you aren't naïve enough to trust her unconditionally, perhaps you're willingly covering for her in hopes that if anyone survives and escapes, it'll be her. After all, didn't you ask Katsura-san to kill you instead of Edogawa-san?"

I glanced at Iwasawa-san's portrait. The most painful lesson she'd learned here was about the consequences of misplaced trust, so what would she say now if she was one of the spotless, rather than the victim? Would she believe me or would she warn me against unconditionally trusting Sae? While I _knew_ Sae was innocent, and couldn't fathom why Kagami-kun had decided to cast doubt on that, I couldn't say for certain what Iwasawa-san, one of my closest friends in this school, would do in this situation.

I then turned back to Sae, who let off a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Kaori, I'll have to tell everyone," Sae said. "The truth is that Kaori and I set an improvised explosive outside the data center in an attempt to lure out the mastermind at the time of the murder. After heading for the chemical lab to retrieve the chemicals for the explosive, we headed to the data center to set our trap, and waited there until we were certain the mastermind wouldn't show up. After that, we headed back to the dorms and arrived at the scene of the crime just after you and the others did."

I nodded solemnly, trying to make it seem as though I was reluctant to disclose this information. In reality, if it helped deflect some of the suspicion from Sae, revealing this was well worth it.

"Yeah, and too bad it didn't work out," Tezuka-kun said. "If what you're saying was true, Sugiura was too busy killing Iwasawa, while the rest of us were in the dining hall, and not able to come over without being noticed. Of course, one of you might be the mastermind."

"That's certainly possible, Tezuka-kun," Kagami-kun said, "but while Miura-san and Edogawa-san are suspects for being the mastermind, that's beside the point for now. At this point, we only have their word for whether they were together at the time of the crime."

I gritted my teeth. While I was grateful for and careful not to abuse the others' trust in me, it was shocking to find that they'd turned against me so easily.

"Well, what do you think, Inoue-kun, Tezuka-kun?" I said. "Do you think Sugiura-san is the blackened?"

"I honestly don't know," Inoue-kun said. "I believe what you're saying, and think Sugiura-san is, at the very least, involved in the murder, but she couldn't have done it alone."

"Me neither," Tezuka-kun said. "I'm saying you're lying, Miura, but you've never had to deal with Edogawa being suspected before. I'm not sure who could've helped Sugiura if not either of you."

I remembered the time when Katsura-san had brought up how given that only one person could graduate, an accomplice would betray the killer. Perhaps Sugiura-san didn't have anyone she trusted enough for that, let alone anyone she wanted to graduate, but it was worth asking her to see if she'd try to name anyone else.

"Did you have an accomplice, Sugiura-san?" I said. "If that person is the actual killer, then you won't be executed if that person is convicted. As things stand now, you'll likely be convicted, and thus be executed regardless of whether you're the blackened."

"I... plead the fifth," Sugiura-san said.

Sugiura-san quivered, seeming more troubled about this seemingly easy question than about being accused of the murder.

"So, in other words, you acted alone," I said, "since I can't think of any one peson you care about enough that you'd give your life to protect them."

"I can't, either," Tezuka-kun said, "but I'd rather not vote for Sugiura until we clear up how she killed Iwasawa."

"Same here," Inoue-kun said.

The color drained from my face. Usually, by now, most of us agreed with me about the blackened's identity, but now, Sae seemed to be the only one who was on my side. As things were now, getting a unanimous guilty verdict for Sugiura-san was a fantasy, and even getting a plurality to vote for her would be very difficult.

"I have a question, Monokuma," I said. "What happens if the blackened and one of the spotless get the same number of votes?"

"Then the blackened graduates, and the other five get punished," Monokuma said. "Seriously, though, why worry about that? You lot have gotten the answer right four times now, and pretty much unanimously, at that."

"Maybe we did," Tezuka-kun said, "but if Edogawa somehow helped Sugiura, we're gonna have to find out which one actually is the blackened."

"I think the answer is obvious," Kagami-kun said. "Considering that Sugiura-san was unlikely to have been able to hold down Iwasawa-san by herself, Edogawa-san is more likely to be the primary culprit if she was involved in the crime."

My blood ran cold. We hadn't been this close to convicting the wrong culprit since Mitamura-san tried to frame Sugiura-san for killing Mizuhara-kun. I had to say something to get the discussion off this track, and quickly.

"But she wasn't," I said. "Sae didn't return to the baths until after the murder. I was with her the entire time."

"Then how was Iwasawa-san rendered unconscious and restrained so that she could be drowned?" Kagami-kun said. "We've already proved that it's not possible for Sugiura-san to have done it by herself."

I wracked my brain for some way to counter that statement, but nothing came to me. While I was still certain Sugiura-san was somehow involved in Iwasawa-san's death, I couldn't deny Sugiura-san had little chance of subduing Iwasawa-san by herself. But who could have helped her? I knew Sae was innocent, and the three boys all had alibis. It might not be possible for Sugiura-san to have pulled off the crime by herself, but it wasn't possible for anyone who was still alive to have helped her.

I was then struck by a burst of inspiration. We'd been approaching the case from the wrong perspective this whole time, simply because we'd assumed that it was a typical murder in order to graduate. By stepping back and looking at a certain player's motives differently, it was possible that they'd done something none of us had even considered.

"Now that I think about it, Kagami-kun, you're right," I said. "Sugiura-san did have an accomplice, someone whose cooperation she needed to carry out her murder plan. The only person who fits the bill... is Iwasawa-san herself."

The others were completely speechless for a moment- even Sae, who usually followed my reasoning fairly well. I was going out on a limb, but this was the only way it could have happened.

"Uh, Miura, maybe you misheard us," Tezuka-kun said. "Iwasawa's the _victim_."

"She is," I said, "and also the only other person who was at the crime scene at the time. It would be easy for Sugiura-san to restrain her and render her unconscious if Iwasawa-san let-"

"NO, KAORI!" Sae said.

I turned to Sae, and saw her as pale as a sheet, and had to admit that I'd nearly jumped out of my skin after hearing this. From breakfast until the time of the murder, she'd seen everything I'd seen, so why was she so shocked by what I'd said? Was Kagami-kun telling the truth when he said she was hiding something?

"I appreciate your standing up for me," Sae said, "and I maintain, as always, that Sugiura-san is the culprit. However, for all our sakes, this is one line of questioning you _must_ _not_ pursue. The last thing we want at this point is any doubt that Iwasawa-san was _murdered_."

"I still think Sugiura-san killed her," I said. "After all, the cuts on Iwasawa-san's wrists seem to be due to her thrashing around in her final moments. The very fact that she was restrained and held down is not indicative of a suicide."

"Good, we agree on those points," Sae said.

I nodded, but noticed that Sae didn't seem any calmer. Perhaps she realized what I was going to say next- something that had to be said if we wanted to uncover the mystery.

"But... how did Sugiura-san get those handcuffs in the first place?" I said. "As we discussed earlier, Iwasawa-san was the one who got them as her murder weapon. It's possible she loaned them to Sugiura-san, but if she did so voluntarily, she must have had some idea what Sugiura-san planned to use them for. Sugiura-san had told us multiple times that she thought that a murder was inevitable."

"Maybe Iwasawa-san didn't loan them to her," Sae said. "Once Iwasawa-san was unconscious, Sugiura-san stole her room key, went to the room, retrieved the handcuffs and used them to restrain her. After all, Sugiura-san left the bath house some time before the murder."

"But did she return?" I said. "As far as I know, Iwasawa-san's room key was in her front pocket, and she lay _face-down_ in the water, so it would've been very difficult for Sugiura-san to put it back without moving the body. Perhaps she could have pushed Iwasawa-san in, but lifting her out of the water would be almost impossible."

Sugiura-san remained silent, neither confirming nor denying my claim. Considering that even now, there was virtually no chance of her avoiding being convicted, perhaps she'd thrown in the towel.

"Besides, I don't believe that she took Iwasawa-san's handcuffs from her room," I said. "She'd probably have had to search the entire room, top to bottom, to find them, and that's assuming that Iwasawa-san still kept her murder weapon around. Furthermore, if Iwasawa-san had woken up while Sugiura-san was away, her plan would have been ruined."

"So Sugiura-san handcuffed Iwasawa-san _after_ her death," Sae said, sounding increasingly desperate.

"Again, that's unlikely," I said. "If Iwasawa-san hadn't been restrained, she'd likely have broken free and escaped. After all, if what you say is true, then she wouldn't want to die, would she?"

Sae sighed and seemed at a loss for words for a few moments.

"I'll admit you raise some good points," Sae said, "but you're forgetting the most important part of all. Like us, Iwasawa-san wanted to get out of here more than anything. She wanted to return home, to see her friends and loved ones again. Why would she give up on that?"

For a moment, I hesitated. All of the killers had fought to the end, since they weren't ready to die, and even Fukuda-kun admitted he'd been scared enough to not immediately confess to accidentally killing Katsura-san. After a moment, though, I thought of it differently, and a piece of evidence that seemingly only revealed information about the victim now gave her a possible reason to participate in this crime.

"What if she doesn't have any family members left?" I said.

"That shouldn't be possible," Sae said. "Monokuma revealed he had leverage on all of us, and Iwasawa-san was no exception."

"He said he had those dearest to us who were still left alive," I said. "In Iwasawa-san's case, her hostage was a relative she'd never met. She told me a few days ago that it was highly likely that her village hadn't survived the Tragedy, and if true, that would mean her friends and family are all gone. Perhaps she simply chose to give up her life, so that the rest of our loved ones could be safe, which was why she made a deal with Sugiura-san, who'd also given up on living. Perhaps Iwasawa-san wouldn't even have considered this if she had family to go back to, but having lost everyone she cared about, she allowed Sugiura-san to kill her."

Sugiura-san was sweating bullets. Was it because I'd proved beyond all shadow of a doubt that she was the killer, or because I'd found out _why_ she'd done it?

"Th-that isn't possible!" Sae said. "Iwasawa-san knows suicide is a sin, so she would never kill herself!"

I shook my head. Apart from the fact that it was technically allowing Sugiura-san to kill her, there was something more relevant.

"It is and you know it," I said. "Sae, you've been acting strangely this whole trial, fixating on the theory that Sugiura-san acted alone. It's not like you."

"I'd say you're not acting like yourself," Sugiura-san said. "It's odd to see you doubting Edogawa. I mean, you generally listen to her, right?"

Something was wrong. I suspected that Sugiura-san had confessed to Sae, who was desperate to keep the true circumstances of the murder secret, but this was just a theory. By now, the cat was out of the bag, but I knew I had to keep going, in order to save the spotless' lives.

"Maybe it is," I said, "but I'm sure there's a reason behind it all- why she's acting this way, why you killed Iwasawa-san, and why Iwasawa-san cooperated with you. I'm going to lay it out for everyone's benefit."

 _Two days ago, Monokuma gave us an ultimatum- commit murder or he would kill one of our families. Feeling as though they had no other choice, the culprit asked us to kill them at breakfast the next morning. Since no one took them up on their offer, the culprit turned to Plan B- committing murder. To this end, they enlisted the help of an unlikely accomplice- the victim herself._

 _In preparation for the crime, the culprit obtained three critical items. The first item was the handcuffs that Iwasawa-san had obtained as her murder weapon. The second item was a length of rope, which was the culprit's own murder weapon. The third item was some chloroform, which the culprit found in the chemical lab, along with a rag they could probably have gotten almost anywhere. The culprit wasn't tall enough to reach the highest shelf, though, and so used a chair from a nearby classroom as a stepping stool._

 _The crime took place at some point after breakfast this morning, presumably between 8 and 9 AM. When Sae and I went to try to lure the mastermind out, and the boys waited in the dining hall, Iwasawa-san called the culprit in for a meeting in the baths, one of the few places in this school without security cameras. Iwasawa-san went in first, at 8:10, followed by her killer at some point in the next 20 minutes._

 _Once Iwasawa-san was there, the culprit handcuffed her and tied her legs with the rope. Once Iwasawa-san was restrained, the culprit used a chloroform-soaked rag to render her unconscious. While Iwasawa-san could have overpowered her killer or escaped, at no point did she resist- the restraints, as well as the chloroform-soaked rag, were intended to make this look like a murder._

 _With Iwasawa-san unconscious, the culprit placed her in the bath and held her underwater. Iwasawa-san, forced awake by the pain of swallowing water, began to thrash, causing the handcuffs to cut her wrists. Eventually, however, Iwasawa-san drowned. The killer then left the baths, with nothing but their entry and departure recorded on the cameras._

 _Around 8:55 AM, when we were set to meet, the culprit led the boys into the baths, where they found the body, and a few minutes later, Sae and I arrived. Because there was no camera, no Body Discovery Announcement played, even though three people besides the culprit had found the body. Considering the circumstances, t_ _here is only one possible explanation for Iwasawa-san's death, and only one person who could have killed her._

 _That person is you, Anzu Sugiura-san!_

Sugiura-san nodded grimly.

"That's right," Sugiura-san said. "I'm the culprit. No matter how you put it, I'm a murderer- right, Monokuma?"

"I'm not answering that," Monokuma said, "not until you find the blackened."

"Sure, sure," Sugiura-san said. "By now, though, you should know that Edogawa's not responsible, so you know who to vote for, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, if your minds are made up, it's time to vote," Monokuma said. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

Voting time came up again, and I cast my vote for Sugiura-san. She'd done what she thought she must, so now it was my turn... but that didn't mean I was happy about it.

The final results came up, and showed six votes for Sugiura-san, leading to yet another "GUILTY!" verdict.

* * *

The courtroom was once again silent in the aftermath of the latest trial, until Monokuma announced the result.

"That's the fifth one in a row!" Monokuma said. "The blackened who murdered Momo Iwasawa-san is... Anzu Sugiura-san!"

I wasn't any more pleased with the outcome of this trial than I was with the previous four. More than that, I was afraid. By saving myself and the other four spotless from being executed, had I doomed my parents and sister?

"So, Monokuma," Sugiura-san said, "are you happy?"

Monokuma's glare and raised paw told us all we needed to know.

"Not quite," Monokuma said. "You see, I said you bastards would need to kill someone, not get someone to let you kill them. Of course, you're still gonna have to die, since I don't believe in 'practice' class trials."

Sugiura-san bit her lip and pounded the rail of her seat with her fist.

"Damn it..." Sugiura-san said despairingly. "All that... for nothing?!"

"Well, not nothing," Monokuma said. "You see, even if you didn't quite get me what I was looking for, you became the blackened, so you had a chance to graduate... and blew it. Like I said, each and every class trial has lives on the line, so you're gonna be punished."

Sugiura-san took a deep breath and gave a bittersweet smile.

"So at the very least, nobody else here will die this time," Sugiura-san said. "That's a relief."

Sae was clearly troubled, and she couldn't look me in the eye. Her gaze eventually wandered over to Sugiura-san.

"Sugiura-san, it looks like there's no longer any reason for you to hide the truth," Sae said. "Please tell us everything."

"All right," Sugiura-san said. "I know that not everyone trusted me completely, but I want you to understand this. Since my plan failed and I'm going to die very soon, I don't have any more reason to lie."

I nodded as the others remained quiet, giving Sugiura-san the floor.

"For the first day after Monokuma announced the motive, I waited around, hoping we'd find a solution," Sugiura-san said, "or to see if someone would commit murder. That didn't happen, so I showed up to breakfast with my rope, hoping that someone would kill me. Obviously, that didn't happen, either."

"Yeah, none of us were exactly keen on dying," Tezuka-kun said. "Neither was Iwasawa, of course."

Sugiura-san chuckled mirthlessly, then said, "I know."

"All that seems to be easy to understand," Inoue-kun said, "but what part aren't you sure about?"

"We're getting to that part," Sugiura-san said. "After breakfast yesterday, Iwasawa called me into the baths, where there weren't any cameras, and _asked me to kill her_. I thought this was some kind of bad joke until she told me about what she'd seen on her ransom notepad."

"So Kaori was right," Sae said. "Iwasawa-san no longer had a home or family to which she could return."

By now, almost all of us had lost our hometowns, too. Of course, we could take some comfort in knowing that our families were still alive... at least for now.

"But why did she decide to have you murder her?" Kagami-kun said. "As I mentioned before, the size difference between the two of you makes it hard to believe that you could have overpowered her."

"I probably could have thought that through better," Sugiura-san said ruefully, "but Iwasawa and I discussed this, and we realized that if I was found dead, people might think I'd killed myself or realize that I'd let her kill me. Like Edogawa said, the fact that Iwasawa's a Christian is a bit of a lucky break- most people would assume that she believed she'd go to Hell if she committed suicide."

"So she decided to let you murder her, knowing you'd be executed if you were caught?" Inoue-kun said.

Sugiura-san nodded, and hung her head.

"I think she knew that would happen," Sugiura-san said, "but she never forced me to do anything. I could have said no if I wanted, but I knew that the only way for all of our families to live through tomorrow morning was for a murder to occur.."

None of us knew what to say to that. Before, refraining from committing murder was a simple matter of self-control, but now, we had a dilemma. Would we endanger our friends or risk sacrificing our families? By now, it was obvious why Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun had suffered so much in their last days.

"Of course," Sugiura-san said, "neither of us wanted to be responsible for each other's deaths, so we held off as long as possible... until this morning. When Miura and Edogawa went off on their little expedition, Iwasawa came up to me and whispered, 'It's time, Miss Sugiura. I'm going to the baths in a little while.' I then went to my room and got the chloroform and the rag, which I'd gotten during Night Time last night, as well as my rope, then set out to kill her..."

* * *

 _Sugiura's Flashback_

I went into the baths, and found Iwasawa next to the water, kneeling in prayer. As I approached, she looked up and saw my reflection in the mirror. She didn't get up, though, but put her hands behind her back. I then set down the bag my murder weapon came in, which had all the necessary supplies- my rope, Iwasawa's handcuffs, the chloroform and a rag.

"It's time, Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa said. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, then unlocked the handcuffs. I took a quick look around to make sure no one had followed us here, then hesitated a moment.

"Are you sure about this, Iwasawa?" I said. "This is your last chance to back out."

"I'm positive," Iwasawa said. "If we don't do something now, then Mr. and Mrs. Miura, as well as their eldest daughter, will almost certainly die tomorrow morning. Please, just do it before I lose my nerve."

Iwasawa put her hands behind her back, and I handcuffed them together, stashing the key in her overalls' bib pocket. I then took out the rope and tied her legs together.

"Just one last question," I said. "It's probably between you and your God, but if this counts as suicide, you'll go to Hell, won't you?"

"If so, then yes," Iwasawa said, "but let's be honest. What kind of Christian would I be if I let my fear for my life or my soul prevent me from doing what I believed to be right?"

So Iwasawa had thought things through. Even though I knew this had to be done, the fact that she was actually ready to die even though she'd done nothing to deserve death made this harder in some ways. This was her decision, but it was a choice she never should have had to make.

"Fair enough," I said. "I'm sorry it had to come to this."

"Please don't be," Iwasawa said. "Just promise me that you won't give up right away- as selfish as it sounds, I don't want to simply accept that your fate is sealed, too."

I didn't think Iwasawa was wrong to feel that way. Just as Iwasawa's death would be on my conscience, my impending death would be on hers... and if we did nothing, the deaths of many innocent people would be on both of ours.

"I'll do what I can," I said. "Not just because Monokuma expects me to try to graduate, but also because it's your last request."

"Thank you very much, Miss Sugiura," Iwasawa said with a smile. "I'm ready."

I then soaked the rag in chloroform and put it over Iwasawa's nose and mouth. Within a minute or so, she passed out and toppled over to one side. While she was significantly taller and heavier than me, it was fairly easy to push her into the water, then hold her under until she stopped moving- at least in terms of physical effort.

Only when I finished was I faced with the truth- regardless of my reasons or my victim's, I was a murderer. I'd soon be punished for my crime, but it wouldn't erase my sin. The only silver lining that helped ease those feelings of guilt was the knowledge that I wouldn't have to live with them for very long.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

"I could tell that Iwasawa was as ready to die as anyone could ever be," Sugiura-san said, "but she struggled enough to cut her wrists on the handcuffs. I guess she was scared at the end, or a part of her wanted to live- we'll never know."

Everyone remained silent. There were many things we wanted to ask the dead murder victims, not just who killed them or how. If anything, we were grateful that Sugiura-san had given us insights on Iwasawa-san's final moments, even if she'd originally hoped to take it to her grave.

"Anyway, I was hoping to disguise this as just another murder," Sugiura-san said, "which was why I did this in the baths, where there were no cameras."

"Clever girl!" Monokuma said. "But you forgot one thing- you were the last person to see Iwasawa-san before her death, so I could guess you were responsible."

"That's what I was hoping for," Sugiura-san said. "In theory, I could potentially have made an unsolvable murder without the cameras, but if I'd ended up getting away with it, you all would have been executed... which is not what I wanted."

So perhaps that was why Sugiura-san left the box around, knowing she was the only person too short to reach the shelf, and had used her rope so soon after showing it to us. The plan wasn't without its holes, but a good number of the "mistakes" had been thought through in advance.

"My goal was to get found out, but I didn't want to make things too easy," Sugiura-san said. "Just in case you couldn't manage this, though, I called Edogawa aside for a private chat."

"That's right," Sae said. "Sugiura-san had always been my top suspect, but I'd never expected to hear her admit to the crime so readily."

* * *

 _Edogawa's Flashback_

I stood in the baths with Sugiura-san, listening to the unthinkable- a full confession of murder in advance of the class trial, as well as her reasons for the crime. Once she appeared to be finished, I asked the only thing that came to mind.

"Is this true?" I said.

"I wouldn't lie about something like this," Sugiura-san said. "If you all vote for me, then I'll be executed, regardless of whether I did it. You should accept that I'm telling the truth, or at least that I'm prepared to die."

"Fair enough," I said, "since your confession does line up with what we've uncovered so far. Of course, we should have enough evidence to convict you, even without your confession."

"That's the plan," Sugiura-san said. "My confession's a last resort if we can't find the killer anyway, so don't bring it up unless Monokuma says we're out of time. Worst case scenario, if you and Miura vote for me and I vote for myself, I should get a majority."

I nodded. At the very least, I knew that when Kaori identified Sugiura-san, I could stand behind her and help convince everyone.

"That said, are you sure about this?" I said. "You know what's in store for a blackened who's convicted."

Sugiura-san nodded grimly.

"I knew what I was getting into when I killed Iwasawa," Sugiura-san said. "Drowning isn't nearly as peaceful a death as they say it is, so it's only fair if my death's a painful one. Besides, if I _don't_ get convicted, the same thing happens to all of you."

"I'll do what I can to make sure things don't come to that," I said. "Besides, even if Kaori's out of the loop, I'm sure she'll find the truth."

Sugiura-san chuckled.

"So you trust her that much?" Sugiura-san said. "I'm honestly a little jealous of how close you two are. She was probably the only friend I had in here, but your relationship with her's on a whole another level."

It wasn't hard to see why Sugiura-san felt that way. While not everyone necessarily believed Sugiura-san was a ticking time bomb, Sugiura-san had hardly talked with anyone besides Kaori.

"I do feel guilty," I said. "I know why you're doing this, but I wish I didn't have to lie to her."

"I know," Sugiura-san said. "I'm pretty sure Miura's got it figured out, though, so if you trust her, just let her do her thing."

At that point, I heard footsteps coming and had to cut our conversation short to avoid being discovered.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

I suddenly realized what Sae had been going through. Torn between her promise to Sugiura-san and keeping secrets of me, to say nothing of what the consequences of her decision might be for all of us, she'd been in an unenviable position. I wished she could have confided in me, but I knew that her circumstances didn't allow her to do so.

"But it looks like my backup plan didn't turn out as I'd hoped, either," Sugiura-san said. "Edogawa, Miura, I really hope you're not mad at each other over this."

"I'm not," Sae said. "I'm so sorry for keeping this from you, Kaori."

Sae turned in my direction and bowed deeply in apology.

"Don't be, Sae," I said. "You simply did what you had to in order to protect our families and the rest of us. I'm sorry I ended up bringing this secret to light."

As I bowed in apology, Sugiura-san looked surprisingly relieved for someone who'd failed to accomplish the plan she'd given her life to execute.

"It's good that you don't have any hard feelings" Sugiura-san said, "since there's only two people I blame for this, neither of whom are you two. The first is myself, since even knowing we had almost a day left, I chose not to trust in the group's ability to work together, and took matters into my own hands, sacrificing an innocent person and giving Monokuma what he'd wanted."

"I actually understand how you feel," I said. "My plan was a desperate measure at best, and there's no guarantee we would have come up with anything better if we'd put our heads together. I honestly can't judge you too harshly."

Sugiura-san nodded gratefully.

"Who's the other person?" Sae said. "Iwasawa-san?"

"Not her," Sugiura-san said. "She made her choice, but it's one she probably never would've thought of if I hadn't done what I'd done at breakfast yesterday. I'm talking about Kagami. We wouldn't be in this mess if that idiot hadn't started asking questions."

"Or if you hadn't killed Iwasawa-san," Kagami-kun said, unusually coldly. "I understand your reasons, but you should have known that Monokuma would see through your plan, or that Miura-san would realize that Iwasawa-san let you kill her."

Sugiura-san glared at him.

"Anyway, Sugiura-san, I'm not so sure Kagami-kun's an 'idiot,'" Sae said. "He did have some valid points about the case from an outsider's perspective."

"Well, what do you call someone who causes the trial to drag on after we find the killer, at a time like this?" Sugiura-san said. "Either he's an idiot, or..."

As Sugiura-san stopped short, a terrible thought about Kagami-kun's motives for questioning the conclusion that Sugiura-san had acted alone entered my mind for a moment.

"Forget it," Sugiura-san said. "That's... too awful for me to consider."

I nodded, then decided to change the subject, to say what I needed to while I still had time.

"In any case, Sugiura-san, I'm deeply sorry," I said. "I wish things hadn't come to this."

"Don't be," Sugiura-san said. "I woke up this morning knowing today would be my last day alive. Of course, while I feel responsible for Mizuhara, Yuuki and Akasaka's deaths to some extent, I didn't know _actually_ killing someone would weigh so much more heavily on my conscience."

"You didn't?" Tezuka-kun said. "But you're..."

"The Ultimate Poisoner?" Sugiura-san said with a bitter laugh. "Talent High School really does love giving out those titles frivolously, doesn't it? I've never actually killed anyone before _. Maybe_ the recruiter actually thought so, or maybe he just used it as leverage to blackmail me to come here so that this school could study my talent."

"I can believe that," Kagami-kun said.

So Iwasawa-san was innocent of the murder that had served as her claim to fame as the Ultimate Poisoner. I'd had my suspicions before, but only now was I sure of it.

"I had my doubts about whether you'd really killed someone before," I said. "But why didn't you say so before?"

"There wasn't any way to prove I wasn't guilty," Sugiura-san said, "and there's nothing more pathetic than someone accused of a crime and pleading their innocence, just like the other blackened did. I'm sure you must've thought I was a killer, and maybe even the mastermind, didn't you?"

"I did suspect that," I said, "but there are certain things I believe in. One is the idea of 'innocent until proven guilty.' Another is building a case with concrete evidence. The third is you as a person, Sugiura-san. When I consider all the facts, the story in which you were falsely accused makes more sense than the one in which you actually are a killer, so I'm glad I was right about that."

Sugiura-san smiled warmly. True trust didn't involve a lack of doubt, but an ability to overcome it.

"Thank you very much, Miura- _san_ ," Sugiura-san said, bowing deeply. "It means a lot coming from you. My life may be over, but while I wish it had turned out differently in many ways, I'm thankful for one thing- being able to meet you, the only real friend I've had."

I had to admit that Sugiura-san had surprised me just now. Part of it was using "-san" on me for the first time since the second trial. Another part was her calling me- or anyone, really- her friend. The last and most important part was the idea that I'd had such an impact on her. More than anything, though, it seemed unfair that Sugiura-san, having come to terms with herself, would have her life cut short before she could make use of her epiphany.

Monokuma then cleared his throat impatiently, derailing my train of thought.

"I've heard about enough of this," Monokuma said. "Even if this wasn't quite what I asked for, Sugiura-san still killed Iwasawa-san, so you know what happens to her."

"Yes," Sugiura-san said. "It's time I paid for the murder I committed, as well as the ones that I failed to prevent. Why do you think I came up with this plan?"

Did Sugiura-san really mean it? Had her guilt and self-loathing eroded her will to live? Before I could ask her something, or even say anything, Monokuma then began his usual ritual again.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Waitress... I mean, Poisoner!"

"So I'm stuck with that title to the very end?" Sugiura-san said. "Heh, figures. Do your worst, Monokuma."

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

 **Game Over**

 **Sugiura-san has been found guilty**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

 _The Ultimate Poisoner, Anzu Sugiura's Execution: Executed_

 _Chef's Surprise_

Sugiura-san was seated at a table in a fancy restaurant, with her ankles bound together and her hands cuffed behind the back of the chair.

Monokuma arrived, dressed similarly to a waiter, and set down a tray with a covered dish and a glass of what looked like wine. He picked up the cover to the platter and threw it aside... revealing a plate full of snakes, scorpions, bees and wasps. As soon as the cover was lifted, the poisonous insects, arachnids and reptiles swarmed over Sugiura-san, biting and stinging her repeatedly.

Sugiura-san's face contorted in agony until Monokuma opened her mouth and poured in the glass of "wine," which I suspected was actually poison. He then grabbed a fork and forced her to eat the dish below the various creatures, which looked like improperly prepared fugu. He shoved in forkfuls so quickly she had trouble swallowing. Considering the various poisons that were flowing through her veins, perhaps choking to death would have been a merciful way to go.

As the poisons coursed through her body, Sugiura-san writhed in agony, vomited all over herself and finally expired.

* * *

The five of us watched in horror. All of us knew that the blackened would have to die, but what now? What would happen if Monokuma considered this murder invalid?

"Are you bummed out?" Monokuma said. "I feel the same way, since I didn't even get a _real_ murder out of this deal. You know what that means, right?"

"No... you wouldn't!" Sae said.

"Oh, relax, Edogawa-san," Monokuma said. "I don't make empty threats, but technically, you did have about 22 and a half hours left when Iwasawa-san drowned, and I'll pretend the timer didn't go down while you were at the class trial, so you've got plenty of time. It's almost 11 now, so you've got until... 9:30 AM tomorrow."

I paused in horror. In the end, Sugiura-san and Iwasawa-san's deaths had only bought us two and a half hours. Under the circumstances, two more people would likely die before the end of today, just as I'd thought, and then what? Which three people would be alive after that, and would the mastermind be among them?

"It's a pretty good offer, if I do say so myself," Monokuma said, "unless anyone has an alternative proposal."

Monokuma was almost certainly speaking in jest, and we all knew what kind of sense of humor he had, but I felt a sense of hope for once. Before, I felt as though I had two undesirable choices- kill the mastermind and escape, or stay in a place in which my life was in danger every day- as well as the unrealistic fantasy of finding a way to leave the school, but I felt as though a new choice had presented itself to me. I had an idea to end the killing game, and felt as though it was actually a workable choice.

I then raised my hand. The moment to hesitate was gone, and I had to act to prevent another murder like the one that had just happened. It wasn't much of a plan, but for once, I felt confident that I could pull it off.

"I do," I said. "What if I told you I knew who the mastermind is, and that we could have one final class trial to determine their identity?"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, especially Sae's.

"You really know?" Sae said. "When did you find out?"

"Just after the trial," I said. "Not only is Sugiura-san, one of our main suspects, dead, but a certain someone was behaving very strangely during the trial."

Monokuma seemed to break out in a cold sweat for a moment, far more than a robot without sweat glands could do, but calmed down after a moment.

"Ok, so _maybe_ you're telling the truth," Monokuma said. "Are you sure enough to bet your life on it?"

"I am," I said. "I'm willing to risk my life to ensure that this killing game ends."

"Puhuhuhuhu... Too bad!" Monokuma said. "You bastards are fighting for your lives in this killing game, so I'm not about to indulge you just because you want to play hero. You'll have to sweeten the pot with _someone else's_ life, but there's a catch. It's gonna have to be someone you care about... not counting my hostages, since they got anted up for the current motive."

Sae looked relieved for a moment, possibly because Monokuma had rejected my proposal, but I realized that wasn't the case once she spoke.

"Then I'll bet my life as well," Sae said. "Each murder incident, which is followed by the execution of a blackened, involves at least two deaths, right? If we fail, you get what you're looking for."

"Interesting..." Monokuma said. "Now _that_ 's a good idea."

"NO!" I said. "Don't do this, Sae!"

"Oh, is Edogawa-san that precious to you?" Monokuma said. "It sounds like she's the one person whose life you value at least as much as your own, isn't she?"

"I..." I said, before the words stuck in my throat

"Very well!" Monokuma said. "I accept your life and hers as your wager for the final class trial. If you find the mastermind, and vote to convict them, they'll be executed and the other four will be able to leave. If you don't, then I'll make you watch Edogawa-san be executed... and then it'll be your turn!"

The prospect of watching Sae die before joining her made me sick to my stomach, but once I calmed myself, I began to hope. If we succeeded, the killing game would finally end.

"But what about Tezuka-kun, Kagami-kun and I?" Inoue-kun said.

"It's your lucky day!" Monokuma said. "If you lot don't uncover the mastermind's identity, the only Miura-san and Edogawa-san have to die. If you do find the mastermind... well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Just relax, and see how things turn out."

So in other words, Monokuma wasn't about to let the mastermind get executed, or he was perhaps hoping that the boys wouldn't be willing to help now that their lives weren't on the line. Inoue-kun, however, shook his head.

"Well, I'm not about to just sit there and let Miura-san and Sae die," Inoue-kun said. "If there's anything I can do to help them, I'll do it."

The other boys nodded.

"I'm sure you need evidence, so I'll give you one last investigation period," Monokuma said, "and I'll unlock the rest of the school so you can investigate. Of course, I've got one stipulation."

"One _more_?" I said. "Haven't you asked enough of us at this point?"

"Don't worry, Miura-san, it's nothing too major," Monokuma said. "You'll just need to find out the secrets of this school- why it exists, why you're all here, that sort of thing. Once you've done that, then the class trial can proceed to the part where you find the mastermind."

So apparently, the Tragedy wasn't the only major thing we'd forgotten... or perhaps Monokuma was talking about something we'd never learned. In either case, it was unlikely to be pleasant, but we'd have to play along.

"That's all for now," Monokuma said. "I'll see you soon!"

Monokuma vanished, and everyone was silent for a moment. Class trials were an exhausting affair, from the stress of trying to find the killer's identity to watching one of our own die in a gruesome manner, but while we were tired, we had no time to rest or to grieve. This trial would soon be followed by another, regardless of whether we were ready for it. With that in mind, everyone's minds seemed to be on the investigation ahead, and we headed to the elevator.

Before we got on, though, I turned to Sae, and the boys stopped to listen to us.

"Sae…" I said. "You didn't have to offer your life alongside mine."

"Yes, I did," Sae said firmly. "I want to see the killing game end as much as you do, and I regret not confiding in you after receiving Sugiura-san's confession. Your proposal is a much better alternative to waiting for the next murder, so of course I want to see it succeed. Besides, it makes me happy that Monokuma thinks I'm important enough to you that he'd accept my life as your bet."

"I... see," I said. "I'd hoped that even if I failed, you'd at least get out alive, but the solution's obvious now- I _won't_ fail. Are you willing to help me find the mastermind?"

Sae and the others said "We are," in unison, inspiring mixed feelings in me. While I appreciated the gesture, I knew one of them had lied just now, as they had from the beginning. All that was left was to find out the liar's identity and their reason for deceiving us all.

"I see," I said. "We don't have any time to waste, so let the final investigation commence."

We then boarded the elevator, ready to begin our final investigation. By the end of the last trial, either the killing game, or my and Sae's lives, would end.

* * *

 _End of Chapter V  
_

 _Students Remaining: 5_

 **Waitress Apron** : A memento of Sugiura. She never enjoyed her job, but always took pride in it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes  
**

Thank you for the reviews and the theories. J Carp made a fairly good guess as to how the murder happened, despite overestimating Sugiura's cunning.

Since Sugiura ended up being a somewhat obvious culprit (especially since she wanted to get caught), I decided to make the main twist in the trial less about who killed Iwasawa and more about how Iwasawa was killed.

The post-trial sequence was fairly long, since not only did it have to explain the circumstances behind the murder, but it also sets up the final Chapter.

By this point, most of the cast has been killed off, so there aren't many people left to ask questions about the case, whether out of ignorance or in an attempt to derail the discussion. As such, the boys had to play that role.

Only one Chapter remains- the struggle to uncover and defeat the mastermind. I'm interested in hearing your theories as to who the mastermind is, and here's a hint- it is _not_ Miura or one of the eleven who died so far. Not even Edogawa is ruled out, since there's a possible motive for her to go through with Miura's deal.

Next up is the start of Chapter VI, and the final Deadly Life segment. Not only is Miura out to find the mastermind's identity, but she must also uncover the secrets behind Talent High School.

* * *

 **Omake**

Here are Miura's eulogies for the deceased, which would play if you examine their doors after their deaths.

"Kurogane-kun… I'd like to say 'This makes us even,' but I'm still not satisfied. I really did hope we could be friends one day."

"Sakuragi-kun… I know convicting you was the only choice, but I never wanted to see you die like that. You had so much to live for..."

"Mizuhara-kun… I wish we could have met somewhere we could trust each other freely. Maybe we could have been friends someday."

"Mitamura-san... It might be too late to say this, but you never had to be perfect. I respected you, and don't know whether I can fill your shoes."

"Yuuki-san... I never cared about your shortcomings, or what you couldn't do. You were a truly kind person and a dear friend- that's all that matters."

"Akasaka-san... You left behind a lot of people who care about you. Your parents, your siblings, Katsura-san and I all wonder... why did you have to die?"

"Hoshino-kun… Maybe my goal of escaping seems naïve to you, but I really could have used your help. If only we'd met under better circumstances..."

"Katsura-san… You were right. You can't simply weigh lives against each other. The simple truth is that I didn't want you to die, either."

"Fukuda-kun… I've been trying to honor your last wishes and not blame myself. I hope you forgave yourself in the end."

"Iwasawa-san... I know you made your decision, and I respect that. But was this really the only way you could help everyone?"

"Sugiura-san… I think I always knew you weren't really a killer at heart. I won't waste the chance you and Iwasawa-san gave me."


	27. Chapter VI, Part 1

**Chapter VI: Where Talent Goes To Die**

 _Deadly Life_

As soon as we stepped off the elevator, I headed to the dorms. There was no time to mourn Iwasawa-san or Sugiura-san- we had to find the mastermind or Sae and I would share their fate.

The idea of putting my life on the line wasn't as scary as I thought. I'd done this five times before, in each class trial I'd been in. In fact, I preferred it this way, since the boys- at least, the two who weren't the mastermind- wouldn't have to die if we were wrong.

As for the mastermind itself, I didn't relish the thought of sending them to their death, but knew that one more time, we'd have to find the guilty culprit. If the only way to save the remaining four spotless was to sacrifice the one responsible for all this death and suffering, then I could live with that.

Of course, while the solution to the problem was simple, this was no ordinary investigation. In a murder investigation, the crime scene would be the most obvious starting point, followed by any locations that could be relevant to the murder. Here, I was tracking down someone who'd left no physical evidence behind and probably hadn't killed anyone personally, so the usual rules didn't apply.

Still, the goal was the same- to find out as much information as I could before the trial began. Since there was no crime scene to search, I set out to investigate all the areas that Monokuma had just opened up, starting with the second floor of the dorms.

* * *

After making my way to the second floor of the dorms, I found a room with several lockers, whose locks could be opened with a student handbook. Apparently, each locker was only opened with the respective student's handbook, so I could only open mine.

The locker was decently sized and contained a number of my belongings. A spare girls' uniform hung on a clothes hanger, apparently the one I wore at the school. I took off my blazer and slipped the other one on, finding that it fit perfectly well, even if it didn't match my skirt. As I put my old school's blazer back on, I was a bit of surprised that my old uniform still fit- not only had it not shrunk at all, but I hadn't grown or gained weight since I'd first come to Talent High School.

I found some of the newer Aiko Aizawa volumes in my locker, as well as a red hand-knitted scarf and a modern mystery novel (one that Sae hadn't written). There was also a notebook in which I'd taken notes from class, and the dates seemed to be from my first and only year at the school. I also found a photo album inside and started flipping through it, showing us a variety of snapshots of our time at the school.

Some of the photos were of the entire class, while others were of individual students or small group. The sixteen of us posed together in the dining hall, and given that we were wearing casual clothes, it was apparently a Sunday or a holiday. I played a shogi match against Kurogane-kun while Sae and Yuuki-san watched. Tezuka-kun showed Inoue-kun and Hoshino-kun the picture that was on display in the gallery. In a clothing store, Iwasawa-san, who was trying on a suit, posed with Mitamura-san and Katsura-san, who were both dressed rather nicely. Akasaka-san and Katsura-san, wearing matching red blouses and black jumper dresses, posed together, smiling and giving the V sign. Sakuragi-kun, Fukuda-kun and Mizuhara-kun did push-ups together in the gym. Sae and I posed together in the classroom on a winter day, smiling and holding hands.

I'd long known that we'd forgotten our time at this school together, but only now did I truly understand what it meant. We'd lost two years worth of lessons, gradually growing our talents and memories made together as friends. People who'd once been friends with each other, or at least could tolerate one another, had killed each other and been willing to sacrifice each other to graduate. Back when we'd known each other for a year or two, betraying and killing each other would have been unthinkable, but when the killing game started, we once again became strangers... with the exception of the mastermind.

The mastermind, the architect of this twisted killing game, most likely retained their memories of having been part of this class... memories that apparently meant nothing to them. They gleefully set friend against friend in a struggle for survival, presumably laughing in secret every time someone murdered a classmate, and every time the murderers in question were executed. I could never forgive this, which was all the reason I needed to find the answer and bring this game to an end.

* * *

I found Kagami-kun in an office room inside the dorms. I didn't know who it belonged to, but quickly forgot about that question as we found more relevant information.

"I found something that might be useful," Kagami-kun said. "It looks like a book about Junko Enoshima."

"As the Ultimate Fashionista?" I said "Or maybe some of her... more recent accomplishments?"

It was a bit hard to imagine that someone with a talent like Enoshima's was responsible for so much death and suffering, although I had heard of a certain genocidal dictator who'd started out as a failed art student.

"The latter," Kagami-kun said. "Here, have a look."

Kagami-kun handed me another tablet PC, with a single E-Book titled, "The History Of Ultimate Despair." Apparently, there was only an abridged version, which was barely long enough to be a decent-sized customer review. A file that small could probably be measured in kilobytes, or written on a single a sheet of notebook paper.

 _Junko Enoshima was head of the movement known as Ultimate Despair. Maintaining a cult of personality, she convinced her followers to commit atrocities, from killing friends and loved ones, to mutilating their bodies, for the sake of enjoying the despair they suffered. Said followers also inflicted despair on others, and were responsible for terrorism, wars and other atrocities that helped fuel the fires of the Tragedy._

 _Not satisfied with destroying much of civilization, Enoshima decided to play the role of the mastermind behind the killing school life inside Hope's Peak Academy, hoping to extinguish what little hope was left by having the symbols of hope murder each other on live TV. She also had her sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, impersonate her, then betrayed and killed Ikusaba in order to enjoy the despair of losing someone precious to her. Enoshima even switched personalities on a whim, bored with staying in any one of them for too long._

 _As a result of killing her own sister to fake her death, Enoshima managed to prevent most her classmates_ _from suspecting that she was the mastermind- or even still alive- for much of the killing game. Eventually, though, Kyouko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective, managed to uncover a great deal of sensitive information, thus forcing Enoshima's hand. Enoshima then framed Kirigiri for Ikusaba's murder, using the fifth class trial as a pretext to eliminate her. Makoto Naegi, however, refused to accuse Kirigiri, resulting in him being convicted and sentenced to death as a scapegoat in her stead. Thanks to his luck and the intervention of the AI known as Alter Ego, Naegi survived his execution, and he and Kirigiri confronted Monokuma, arranging for one final trial to uncover the mastermind._

 _In the end, Enoshima's plan was thwarted, and hope triumphed over despair. Paradoxically enough, this was what Enoshima wanted most of all- to feel the despair of the scheme she'd worked on for so long failing, as well as that of her own death._

 _Even though Enoshima is now dead, her legacy of despair lives on. The world is in ruins and several of her followers are still at large. Perhaps someday, someone will take up Enoshima's mantle and lead a new crusade to fan the flames of despair._

So _this_ was the person who was responsible for the Tragedy, the killing game in Hope's Peak Academy, and also all of our suffering. Nothing could justify causing any of those, but I honestly hadn't expected to be this disgusted by the person behind all of them. It was mostly because I'd lost too many friends to a killing game and partly because I, a younger sister, was outraged by the idea of betraying a sibling, but the fact that the killing game seemed completely unfair also stood out.

"It sounds like Enoshima was many things," I said. "A manipulator, a lunatic, a sadistic monster... and a coward."

"A coward?" Kagami-kun said. "Why do you say that?'

"Think about it," I said. "She hid in the data center for almost the entire killing game, faking her own death and fooling the students into suspecting that her sister, who died in her place, was the mastermind. She then rigged the fifth trial, intending to frame and execute Kirigiri-san, the greatest thorn in her side. When Naegi-kun ended up taking the fall and surviving his execution, he and Kirigiri-san essentially forced Enoshima to redo the trial, under threat of exposing her cheating. After being unmasked, Enoshima stacked the deck as far in favor of despair as possible, and failed. Rather than face punishment for her crimes, Enoshima took the easy way out by killing herself."

"...and apparently enjoyed it," Kagami-kun said. "You know, Miura-san, like I said weeks ago, some people are just insane. For Enoshima, it wasn't about winning or losing- it was about inflicting despair. As long as she lives, she inflicts despair on the world, but if she loses and dies, she enjoys feeling that own despair herself- paradoxically enough, even the Ultimate Despair has hopes of her own and people she loves in her own twisted way. Because of that, it's quite possible that the mastermind _does_ in fact care for us... and wants to feel despair by sacrificing their friends."

I simply shook my head. I'd heard that people committed murder for a variety of reasons- including personal gain, hatred, a misguided belief in their own righteousness or even for fun- but I couldn't fathom the idea of killing to cause and feel despair. While I didn't think anything justified killing another human being, I could understand why all the blackened had committed murder

"So it's a win-win situation either way?" I said. "I find it hard to believe that any one of us is that twisted... unless one of us is doing a _very_ good job of hiding it."

"I know," Kagami-kun said. "Even though I've tried to keep a certain distance from you all, since I don't know which of us will end up dying or killing, I don't like suspecting any of my friends, either."

"Me neither," I said, "but I know what we have to do. We have to find the truth one more time, for the sake of the living and the dead."

Kagami-kun nodded. There was a traitor among us, someone who had probably never been our friend, but I knew that the other three were irreplaceable friends. For their sake, as well as for my own, I could not fail.

* * *

I found Tezuka-kun looking through some files in a records room on the second floor of the dorms. He'd formed three piles- a large one that apparently consisted of the ones he had yet to read (since I saw him pick a document off the top of that pile), a decent-sized one of the ones he'd already read and found to be unimportant (since he put one there after skimming it over), and a small one of the ones that were actually relevant.

"Sheesh, I never thought they'd _actually_ make me do reading here," Tezuka-kun said. "I might get better grades than Yuuki, Sakuragi and Fukuda, but I don't like school any more than they did."

"What have you found?" I said.

"This doesn't seem like it'll tell us who the mastermind is," Tezuka-kun said, "but it sounds like it'll tell us more about the secrets of the school. Take a look."

Tezuka-kun handed me a tablet PC with an e-book titled "The Unauthorized History of Talent High School," and I read it aloud.

 _Officially, Talent High School was founded as an institution to study talent, much like Hope's Peak Academy. Ostensibly, it was meant to study talents in emerging areas that Hope's Peak had not studied much at the time, such as blogging or programming, as well as talents that Hope's Peak considered "beneath" their notice._

 _In actuality, all this was little more than a lie to appease the public and investors, while disguising the school's true purpose._

 _Many of those who established Talent High School did so with the hopes of establishing an exclusive and prestigious school that their children, grandchildren and other relatives could attend. Obviously, the school did not earn its prestige overnight, so the first several years were meant to recruit impressively talented individuals that did not make it into Hope's Peak. Talent High School's hope was that once the students graduated, their achievements would bolster the school's reputation. If everything went well, the school would stand for generations, giving the founders a chance to send their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other relatives that was mostly funded by other people's money._

 _For the most part, the plan worked. Five years after its foundation, when the first relatives of the school's founders and their friends were admitted, Talent High School was well-regarded enough for the students to have a significant, albeit unearned, advantage in getting into college, and thus in finding a job after graduation. In order to further finance its operations, a Reserve Course was established, an idea that Hope's Peak later copied, an ironic case of the original learning something from the imitator._

 _Of course, Talent High School, having professed that its purpose was to study talent, had to produce some results to justify its so-called purpose. Collecting data helped buy the school some time, as did periodic reports on what they'd learned of particularly exceptional students, but people had begun to question the legitimacy of Talent High School's mission. Just over three decades after its inception, Talent High School has begun to search for an exceptionally talented student and uncover what gives them their talent in order to justify its continued existence._

Tezuka-kun and I remained silent for a moment, letting it sink in.

"So, did I read this wrong?" Tezuka-kun said. "Or did all of us got in based on talents we don't really have?"

"Not necessarily, Tezuka-kun," I said. "Even if they were willing to let relatives in, they needed people with actual talents to boost their reputation. As for those of us who are still here, I know Sae's a great mystery novelist, and I've heard of your work before, so it's clear that the two of you deserve your titles."

Of course, even as I said that, I knew that while Sae was probably the best mystery writer, she wasn't necessarily the best writer of her generation. Fukawa-san, who was our age, had published several times as many books as Sae had, and started from a much younger age, so she was probably much more deserving of the Ultimate Writing Prodigy title, even if Fukawa-san wasn't as good at writing mysteries. I wasn't as interested in Fukawa-san's work as I was interested in Sae's, to say nothing of how Sae had much greater personal significance in me, but I hoped to meet Fukawa-san someday if I got out of the school alive.

"Yeah, assuming we don't have people on the Talent High School board of directors in our family trees," Tezuka-kun said. "Take a look here and see if you see anyone you recognize."

Tezuka-kun handed me a document showing who was on the six-member board of directors. The first name, that of the Chairman, was immediately familiar to me- Takehiko Mitamura.

"Mitamura-san?" I said.

"Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of," Tezuka-kun said. "I'm guessing the chairman's Mitamura's dad?"

I shook my head.

"I'm almost certain that they're related," I said, "but it's possible that Mitamura-san- by whom I mean Reiko-san- is the elder Mitamura-san's niece or granddaughter. I think Reiko-san said her father was a surgeon."

Had Mitamura-san knowingly benefited from nepotism, or had she convinced herself that she'd earned the invitation through her own merits? Perhaps we'd never know.

I looked through the list, and didn't recognize most of the surnames- apart from Chairman Mitamura, there was Ayame Yoshikawa, Yoichi Arakawa, Jiro Kusakabe, Yukino Ishigami and Mitsuki Fujiwara. One side-effect of calling most of my classmates by their last names was that I easily recognized people with similar names, but apart from the chairman, none of the board seemed to be related to anyone I knew. While it was possible that the board members were distant relatives, I didn't see any other matches... at least not initially. One other name seemed familiar, and it took me another look at the list to remember why.

"There's another one I recognize," I said. "It's Yoichi Arakawa, the name of Iwasawa-san's only remaining relative."

"So she got in that way, too," Tezuka-kun said. "It did seem kind of odd that they just found the Ultimate Farm Hand in the sticks like that."

I nodded. Iwasawa-san's farming village wasn't entirely known to the outside world, but its isolation meant that any especially talented teenager like her would have a difficult time proving their skill and becoming famous enough to gain a recruiter's attention. If, however, Arakawa-san had heard about Iwasawa-san's existence before, then he could scout her out when she was old enough to come to Talent High School.

"True," I said. "Sugiura-san's fairly obscure, but since her family owns a restaurant, I don't think she's related to one of the board."

While Sugiura-san had been eliminated from my list of suspects for the mastermind the moment she'd killed Iwasawa-san, I had to admit that I was still curious as to how she fit into all this. The same went for Kagami-kun, whose talent was still unknown, and for myself, who'd always had the strangest and seemingly least useful talent of all of us. Tezuka-kun must have had the same thought, since after a moment, he spoke.

"Anyway, Miura, what about you?" Tezuka-kun said. "Do you have any family members on the board?"

"Not at all," I said. "All my grandparents died before I came to Talent High School, and the only one left at the time- my paternal grandmother- wouldn't have done her grandchildren a favor like this."

"What about your mom's side of the family?" Tezuka-kun said. "Or your dad's mom's side?"

"Again, no," I said. "My mother's parents were only children, as was my paternal grandmother. Besides, this school's only been around for 33 years- well, technically it got started 35 years ago- so it isn't likely that there's any board members in my family tree that I don't know about."

My maternal grandparents often joked that I'd ended up breaking a generations-long traditions of the Fujiokas being only children, one that had started with my great-great grandfather. After hearing that, my mom usually smiled and said she was a Miura now.

"Ah," Tezuka-kun said. "Well, it's worth a shot."

"I don't blame you," I said. "It would seem fairly suspicious if, after losing a mahjong match, and the chance to be the Ultimate Mahjong Player along with it, they suddenly happen to come up with a second talent for me, as if they _had_ to make a spot for me, no matter what"

Tezuka-kun paused for a moment. I must have told him at some point, and apparently he remembered, although it took him a moment to recall it.

"So you didn't get in riding on a relative's coattails," Tezuka-kun said. "I dunno, but maybe they actually do think you have something."

"Maybe," I said. "I guess I'll have to look into this more."

I left Tezuka-kun. While I knew that finding out more about myself was a secondary priority at best compared to unmasking the mastermind, part of our task was to learn the secrets of this school. Perhaps I fit into all this somehow, and if so, I'd have to figure out what role I played.

* * *

I quickly made my way through the school, and up to the headmistress' office on the fifth floor, where Sae was waiting.

"Ah, hello, Kaori," Sae said. "What have you found out so far?"

I told Sae an abridged version of what I'd learned from Tezuka-kun, then asked her to look into it herself for more details.

"I honestly wasn't expecting to hear that," Sae said. "It's certainly plausible, but a bit surprising."

"I know," I said. "With this, we can answer one of Monokuma's questions, but we'll still need more information."

We began to investigate the headmistress' office. There weren't many personal touches in it, apart from a family photo with six people in it. One was a middle-aged woman in a gray business suit who seemed to be the headmistress herself. In the back, there was an elderly couple who looked old enough to be the headmistress' parents. There was a second married couple, probably 5-10 years younger than the headmistress, who were probably her younger sister and brother-in-law (or perhaps younger brother and sister-in-law). The last person was a young girl in a school uniform that didn't look like any of the others- her blazer and skirt matched mine, but she wore a pink neck ribbon instead of a necktie and had a plaid skirt instead of a solid-colored one. By my guess, the girl was shorter than anyone here besides Sugiura-san, so she was probably still in middle school.

I found the headmistress' diary, and flipped through it, starting with the most recent entries. She didn't seem like she wrote in it very often, so most of the entries were many days apart, and the diary was less than half full. The last entry seemed to be from March of the year I came to Talent High School.

 _Everything is prepared, but disaster has struck. The entirety of Class 32 has gone missing, as has one of our teachers. The board has gone out to search for them, and have ordered the students to remain behind. Mitamura-san has been entrusted with the Master Control for the school, and has been told to use it to seal the school if we do not return or if she and the rest of Class 33 are in danger._

So if that entry was true, then my classmates and I were the only remaining people inside of Talent High School, and had been since the start of the killing game. Clearly, the mastermind had stolen the Master Control from Mitamura-san.

The next notable entry seemed to be from the January of my first year at Talent High school.

 _All of the students have consented to the Sanctuary Plan, which is a relief. We also have the information we need for the air purifier, so we should have it ready in time. The rest of the students have begun working on installing steel plates over all the windows, so the school should be completely sealed very soon._

I skimmed over a few more entries that didn't seem to be at all significant. Eventually, I found an entry from the summer of that year.

 _I went to a family reunion with my parents, younger sister, brother-in-law and niece. I gave my niece the good news- that the admissions office is in favor of bringing her to our school as the Ultimate Potter. All I ask is that she keep up the good work, get used to calling me "Headmistress" rather than "Auntie" while at school and stay out of trouble. She seems willing, so I think the board will be convinced to allow her in._

So the headmistress was willing to pull some strings to get her own niece into the school. Perhaps she was willing to bend the rules to give the younger girl a leg up on the competition, or maybe she honestly believed in her niece's talent. All this seemed fairly morally gray, to say the least.

The next notable entry was from just after my first year at Talent High School had started.

 _I met with the board for the first time this school year, and the main subject of our discussion was the incoming class. We have every reason to believe that our results will continue to justify our existence, so the rest of the board is cautiously optimistic._

 _Our discussion turned to some of the students. The chairman said that Mitamura-san's indiscretion at her previous school has been "taken care of," and that he had warned her not to expect special treatment at his school. As for Arakawa-san, he said his reasons for bringing his relative Iwasawa-san to the school were his own._

 _Yoshikawa-san floated the possibility of bringing her young nephew, Eiichiro Yoshikawa, to the school as the Ultimate Pirate once he reaches high school. I briefly assumed she was talking about someone who distributes illegal copies of software, but she clarified that she meant the brigands of the high seas, and gave a nice impression of a pirate shanty. We had a good laugh, but had to tell her no- we only accept talents that would seem realistic. That said, if Yoshikawa-kun displays promise in any area- he need not be the best- we could have an Ultimate title for him._

So the board had known about Mitamura-san's cheating all along and covered it up. The diary didn't say whether Mitamura-san had been a knowing or willing beneficiary, but perhaps this explained how the mastermind had found out about Mitamura-san's shameful secret.

Furthermore, this also showed that the board was willing to bend the rules for relatives, even giving them Ultimate titles they didn't necessarily deserve. If I was related to anyone on the board, they probably would have let me become the Ultimate Mahjong Player even though I'd lost the game quite badly, or ordered my professional opponents to throw the game. So why had they given me a second chance to enter the school?

Finally, the first entry in this diary was from the February before I entered the school.

 _The incoming students for Class 33 is a promising and diverse lot. We have an Abstract Artist, an Astronomer, a Checkers Player, a Cheerleader, a Farm Hand, a Fisherman, a Linguist, a Mystery Novelist, a Proofreader, a Rock Climber, a Saleswoman, a Shogi Player, a Sprinter and three unique individuals._

 _One is the Ultimate Waitress, who also happens to be the Ultimate Poisoner- two Ultimate talents for the price of one. She is currently the only multi-talented individual in the school's history, so the recruiter who brought her here went to a lot of trouble to get her._

 _Another is the Ultimate Copycat, an individual who can replicate anything he sees, and possesses photographic memory. Understanding such a talent, with a vast range of applications, could be a fascinating discovery. As such, I have asked that this boy be recruited by any means necessary. I was quite pleased when the recruiter reported success, although he did seem to say that the boy "seemed reluctant... at first."_

 _The third and most promising is the Ultimate Beginner's Luck. We'd thought this girl was the Ultimate Mahjong Player, but she may yet be the key to being the basis for our Ultimate Hope. By studying her talent, and gaining insight into the mysterious gifts of luck and intuition, we may produce enough results to justify our continued existence._

 _I have high hopes for this year. All of the students seem fairly promising, including the Chairman's niece. Some say that Talent High School may be on the decline, but I believe that this year may herald a renaissance for our school._

I was completely speechless. All this time, I'd thought of my strange "talent" as little more than a consolation prize, something that had gotten me admitted to this school but would do little to ensure my success in the future. But if this diary could be believed, then my talent was the most valuable of the sixteen students that had come to the school this year, at least as far as the school's mission went.

"I take it this is news to you, Kaori," Sae said as she looked at the entry.

"You could certainly say that, Sae," I said. "For a moment, I'd wondered if I'd gotten in on the basis of my relatives being connected, but I'd never imagined something like this being true."

"Is it a good thing?" Sae said. "Or do you believe it's a bad thing?"

I stopped for a moment to think, since I'd never devoted much time to this question.

"I honestly can't say," I said. "Perhaps Talent High School did see potential in me... as a way of prolonging their school's existence and falsifying progress on their false scientific mission. I really don't know what to say to that."

"I do," Sae said. "As cliched as it may sound, a person's worth cannot be judged by the 'objective' factors that admissions officers, hiring managers and editors use to judge who is deserving and who is not. Even if you aren't a star student, a uniquely talented individual or the relative of a powerful person, you're a kind, intelligent, and honest young lady, and someone dear to me. Regardless of why Talent High School chose you to come here or why, I'm glad that they did."

I smiled warmly and nodded. Perhaps the humble thing to do was to dismiss the compliment, but I knew better. These words came straight from Sae's heart, so I had no right to deny them. If I didn't believe I deserved to hear these words, then all I had to do was _become_ worthy of them.

"Me too, Sae," I said. "That means a lot to me."

We continued investigating for a little while. After skimming through the diary one last time, a photo fell out. It was of four men and two women in business suits hanging from a swing set that served as a makeshift gallows. Their faces could easily be identified, since their apparent executioners, several people wearing Monokuma masks, hadn't even given them blindfolds. The worst part was that even though the hanging victims had probably died of asphyxiation, a much more painful death than a broken neck, this wasn't even the most agonizing or gruesome way Monokuma and his associates could think of to kill people.

"It looks like you found something," Sae said, "but I'm guessing it isn't pleasant?"

Since I was probably wincing, it was easy for Sae to guess what was going through my head. Once I got over my initial horror, I noticed something else about the picture when I took another look at the dead.

"Not at all," I said. "It looks like Ultimate Despair had the board hanged, but something's off about it."

"What do you mean?" Sae said.

"There's six people on the board, and six people hanging from the gallows," I said. "Ordinarily, I'd assume that the entire board was executed together, but one of them is the headmistress."

Sae took a look at my picture, and after wincing in discomfort, nodded.

"You're right," Sae said. "The board has three men and three women, but there's four women and two men here. I think I know who's missing."

Sae took out a picture of the board, and pointed to the missing person.

"Yoichi Arakawa," Sae said. "He's the one who was spared, for some reason or another. Is it possible he was an insider who helped Ultimate Despair carry out the plan to start a killing game here?"

"I'm not so sure," I said. "He was Iwasawa-san's hostage."

Sae paused for a moment in shock, then composed herself as she realized something.

"It all adds up," Sae said. "Whoever is responsible for this kept him alive to use as leverage against Iwasawa-san, even though she'd probably never met him before coming to Talent High School."

After a little more investigation of the office, Sae looked intently at a document she'd found.

"Ah," Sae said. "That explains a lot."

"What does?" I said.

"This," Sae said, showing me a stack of consent forms and a DVD. "Apparently, we signed these to give our consent to stay in Talent High School for the rest of our lives, and the DVD records us doing so."

I flipped through the pile and saw that all sixteen of us had signed our names. The DVD was labeled- "Shelter Plan Consent: Talent High School Class 33."

"I'd like to view the DVD," I said, "but it doesn't look like we can play it here. The A/V room might work, but I need to visit the data center first."

"You should probably take it with you, then," Sae said. "I'll stay here to investigate a bit more."

I nodded, then went on my way, hoping I'd have enough time to do everything I needed to.

* * *

I then headed to the data center, noticing that Monokuma had somehow cleaned up the remains of my improvised explosive. Inoue-kun was already there, having apparently just arrived, and I heard him cough.

"Are you all right, Inoue-kun?" I said.

"I am, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said. "It's quite dusty in here, though."

As I coughed, I saw what he meant. I half expected to see some cobwebs in here, but I remembered that I hadn't seen a single spider in the past few weeks.

I looked at the control computer, which had a screensaver running.

"So in other words, no one's used this computer for a long time," Inoue-kun said.

"At least not from here," I said. "Sorry, Inoue-kun; it looks like you've found one of the less useful investigation spots. Maybe Sae could use some help with the investigation of the headmistress' office."

"All right," Inoue-kun said. "I'll go find her."

I nodded gratefully, glad that Inoue-kun had taken the hint. This was something that I had to look into by myself.

I opened up the Security Camera Footage folder, and found a collection of folders. Most of them seemed to correspond to various cameras, but others seemed to have listening devices.

I opened up the folder for the baths, and reviewed the audio footage. Most of it was silence, but I found some useful information from the late morning and early afternoon. The first piece of information was the moment Sugiura-san killed Iwasawa-san. The second piece was when Sugiura-san confessed to Sae. Until the trial, all this was a secret only shared by Sugiura-san, Sae, the late Iwasawa-san... and the mastermind. A certain someone knew something they shouldn't, and all that was left was to identify who.

I found another folder on the computer, with two text files. The first read "Murder Weapons."

 _Kuro Akasaka: Ice pick._

 _Sae Edogawa: Piano wire._

 _Daichi Fukuda: Skewer._

 _Sora Hoshino: Wrench._

 _Shinichi Inoue: Lead pipe._

 _Momo Iwasawa: Handcuffs._

 _Sousuke Kagami: Tazer._

 _Komaki Katsura: Steak knife._

 _Shiro Kurogane: Brass knuckles._

 _Kaori Miura: Hammer._

 _Reiko Mitamura: Screwdriver_

 _Minato Mizuhara: Syringe._

 _Akito Sakuragi: List of weapons._

 _Anzu Sugiura: Rope._

 _Yusuke Tezuka: Chisel._

 _Ami Yuuki: Razor_

Most of it was as I remembered from the first trial, and it seemed to confirm my theory that Sakuragi-kun had received this list in lieu of a weapon- ironically, knowing all this had proven his undoing. Perhaps the fact that Sakuragi-kun had died so early on in the game worked to the mastermind's advantage, as they had proven surprisingly uncooperative when it came to their weapon, possibly out of concern what would happen if people found out. I didn't know why they were so concerned, but if they believed knowing what weapon they got would probably compromise their identity, then that left two candidates- Inoue-kun and Kagami-kun, I was fairly glad I'd sent Inoue-kun away, but knew that my investigation wasn't over yet.

I then checked a list of weaknesses. Unfortunately, they didn't contain any information as to the actual weaknesses, but they did say who got whose(and judging from the fact that it said Sugiura-san had Iwasawa-san's weakness, it was the accurate list). I noticed that two people were lucky enough to have their own weaknesses- Hoshino-kun and Kagami-kun. While I strongly doubted that the mastermind's secret would be that they were the mastermind, it was safest to have your own weakness, since the mastermind had correctly anticipated that someone would commit murder within the time limit.

The "handgun" motive didn't have any relevant information I could gain here, and the "FDR:VR" motive was essentially a miniature version of the most recent motive, so neither was relevant. I took a moment to look for a list of hostages, but while I came up empty, I wasn't really disappointed. Out of the six other people who'd lived long enough to see the motive, four of them had told me who their hostages were, I'd learned Iwasawa-san's after her death and Kagami-kun wasn't likely to cooperate at this point.

Nothing else on the computer seemed to be at all useful, so I left the lab for now. For all I knew, I was the only one besides the mastermind who knew this information, so I decided to keep that secret so I could flush out the person behind the killing game.

* * *

Before going downstairs, I stopped by the bio lab, and counted two additional lights- one for Iwasawa-san and one for Sugiura-san. I took a deep breath, steeled myself and did a brief investigation of each freezer, confirming that they were all occupied, so to speak. Iwasawa-san's body must have been wet when she'd been taken away, since she was covered in ice, while Sugiura-san looked as awful as she did when she died less than an hour ago.

There was no mistaking it. Eleven of us were dead by now, so the mastermind could only be one of my four remaining classmates. It would make sense for the mastermind to have faked their death this time, but under the rules of the killing game, they were still alive. After all, Monokuma preferred cruel truths to lies, and knowing that we'd been betrayed by our classmates would induce more despair than the idea that an outsider was responsible for the death and suffering.

Now that I'd cleared up yet another of my doubts, only one thing remained- finding the actual culprit. I then continued downstairs to the A/V room to play the DVD Sae had given me.

* * *

I went to the A/V room and sat down at one of the video players. I inserted the DVD, pressed play and put on the headphones attached to the machine.

The first on the list was my interview. For some reason, I was wearing the same uniform I was wearing now, rather than my Talent High School uniform.

"Thank you for coming, Miura-san," the headmistress said. "You may be wondering why I called you here or why I'm recording our conversation."

"Yes, ma'am," my past self said. "I would like to know about both topics, but perhaps we could start with the latter?"

"It's just a matter of insurance," the headmistress said, "proof of what we're about to discuss should it be needed in the future."

I had to wonder why I bought an excuse like that, but as one might imagine, I didn't remember this conversation.

"As for the former..." the headmistress said, "I'll get straight to the point. Due to the increasing danger outside, we have decided to convert this school into a shelter for the students. Because of that, I would like to obtain your consent- for the sake of your safety, to stay here for as long as necessary, including the rest of your life if need be."

I saw my past self tense up on the screen.

"Just... me?" my past self said. "What about my parents? My older sister? My grandmother?"

The headmistress shook her head sadly.

"Unfortunately, Miura-san, the shelter is strictly for Talent High School students," the headmistress said. "It's a matter of security concerns, as well as our plan to shelter the best and brightest. I sympathize with your desire to protect your loved ones, but please understand that your family would likely rest easier knowing that you are safe in here."

My past self sighed. Considering that we'd all been brought to our breaking point when our families were threatened, I couldn't imagine simply leaving my parents to face the Tragedy, even if it was for the sake of my own survival.

"So, Miura-san?" the headmistress said. "Can I count on you?"

My past self solemnly nodded. In the end, there was only one real choice, even if I hadn't liked it.

"Yes, ma'am," my past self said. "I agree to stay at Talent School as long as I must."

"Thank you," the headmistress said. "Sign here, please."

My past self accepted the pen I was given and signed my name on the document.

"You may go now, Miura-san," the headmistress said. "Please send up Edogawa-san next."

My past self bowed and took my leave, at which point my video ended.

There was no particular order to these interviews, although the girls seemed to go first. Sae, having heard of the situation from me, accepted, albeit reluctantly. Yuuki-san was nothing less than completely polite to the headmistress, always saying "yes ma'am," from being asked to give her consent to being asked to fetch Mitamura-san, whom she referred to by her last name and with honorifics. Mitamura-san was also respectful to the headmistress, going the extra mile to show courtesy to her betters. Sugiura-san gave one of her not entirely genuine smiles, but didn't hesitate to take the headmistress up on her offer. Akasaka-san, however, had a hard time accepting the fact that the school couldn't protect her family, but ultimately gave her consent. Katsura-san felt the same way, but was slightly more willing to accept the deal. Lastly, Iwasawa-san agreed, although I could clearly tell she was worried about her family- and for good reason.

Next up came the boys. Hoshino-kun went first, cynically and rudely noting that given the chance between certain death and relative safety, he'd take the latter. Tezuka-kun went next, and flippantly agreed to stay in the school for the same reasons. Fukuda-kun also said yes, albeit being concerned for his family. Kurogane-kun agreed, although he wasn't as openly concerned about his family- whether because he didn't care as much or because he knew there was no point in trying to bargain. Sakuragi-kun wasn't too keen on the "rest of his life" part, but he didn't see any reason to say no. Inoue-kun was next, and also said yes, as did Mizuhara-kun.

The last interview was Kagami-kun's. She explained the situation to him, and considering how dispassionate he seemed, I wondered if he was even paying attention.

"So, Kagami-kun," the headmistress said, "are you willing to take shelter in the school, even for the rest of your life?"

"I am," Kagami-kun said, a bit more brusquely and impatiently than was appropriate. "There isn't really much of a choice, is there?"

"The circumstances are... unenviable," the headmistress said, "but I believe this is the best choice for all concerned, so I appreciate your cooperation. Sign here, please."

Kagami-kun complied.

"So that's that," Kagami-kun said. "I'm pretty sure I'm the last one, so can I go now?"

"Not just yet," the headmistress said. "There's a certain other matter that I'd like to discuss with you. Please give me a moment."

The headmistress then turned off the camera. Judging by the progress bar, it wasn't too surprising that the video ended there, but it was truly disappointing that I'd likely missed out on something very important.

"Why'd it cut off right there?" I said.

"Don't ask me, Miura-san!" Monokuma said, popping up out of nowhere. "I didn't do anything this time! It's not my fault the headmistress turned off the camera before the really juicy bits of her conversation with Kagami-kun."

While it was possible Monokuma said that to tantalize me, it was also possible he knew something. How would he know how "juicy" the unrecorded conversation between the headmistress and Kagami-kun was if he hadn't listened to or heard about it?

"So in other words, they discussed something important," I said. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Not telling!" Monokuma said. "It's up to you to figure that out, but at least it doesn't have anything to do with the secrets behind the school."

I felt a bit relieved, mainly because I was fairly certain I'd figured out everything about the school. Of course, that was only the first step, and if I couldn't prove the mastermind's identity, Sae and I would die.

"Anyway, I've got a riddle for you," Monokuma said. "If you see a photo of all 15 of your classmates besides you, what'd you suppose it means?"

"Probably that I took the picture," I said, "or maybe that I was absent that day. It'd be pretty silly to assume that everyone in the class is in on a conspiracy against you just because you're not in the photo, right?"

"Exactly!" Monokuma said. "Here's a little present for you."

Monokuma handed me a photo of a volleyball game between the boys and the girls, all of whom were wearing gym uniforms, while a few of us stood on the sidelines. Surprisingly enough, all the class could be accounted for in the photo, even if their faces couldn't be seen clearly. I recognized Sae's long dark hair from behind, even though it was tied in a ponytail, and knew that the exceptionally tall girl spiking the ball was Iwasawa-san.

"What's this supposed to prove?" I said.

"Nothing!" Monokuma said. "You might think we erased your memories because you remember who the mastermind is, but that's not the case. Truth is, they seemed like just another classmate as long as they were in school, but they only needed one thing- an opportunity to make their sick fantasies reality."

Monokuma had seemingly given an important clue, possibly without even realizing it. If what he was saying was true, the mastermind's motive stemmed from before they'd come to the school- or perhaps the circumstances under which they'd been invited here.

"I've gotta run," Monokuma said. "There's four more of these photos for me to hand out. Ta-ta for now!"

Monokuma then left. I reflexively checked my watch before realizing that there was no way of knowing how much time remained for the investigation. Having done everything I needed to, I left the room.

* * *

I quickly returned to the dorms, stopped by the kitchen and grabbed some fruit for a snack. It was hardly my first choice for a last meal (not that I had any intention of dying here), but it did ensure that I wouldn't be distracted by hunger pangs during the last trial.

I didn't have much time left, but there was an experiment I wanted to try, based on something Fukuda-kun had once said. I went back to my room to retrieve my "hostage" notepad, and then proceeded to the baths. As I'd expected, Iwasawa-san's corpse was gone, but that wasn't why I was there.

I took a moment to stash my handbook in one of the open lockers for safekeeping, then proceeded to the sauna, and threw the "hostage" notepad inside. Within minutes, it overheated, and showed a blank screen... much like Kagami-kun's had.

Having solved one of the last remaining mysteries, I retrieved my handbook, stashed it in my skirt pocket and left.

As soon as I'd exited to the lobby of the dorms, the monitor came on.

"Time's up!" Monokuma said. "Ready or not, we're gonna hold one last class trial, so get your butts over to the elevator to the courtroom!"

For once, I felt as though I'd done all I needed to. I had the answers I was searching for, and now, all that was left was to pass Monokuma's test and unmask the mastermind. The only remaining question was what we'd do once the mastermind was unveiled.

* * *

I got to the elevator first, and found that Sae was already there, waiting for me.

"So, Kaori," Sae said, "do you think you can answer Monokuma's questions and uncover the mastermind's identity?"

"I do," I said. "I'm certain I've learned all I can about the mastermind and the school."

Sae sighed.

"That's all well and good," Sae said, "but our opponent isn't just some student who's desperate to graduate- it's the mastermind himself. Monokuma won't simply let us win- and may not allow us to win at all."

"That's certainly possible," I said, "All the same, though, if there's any chance of ending this, then the only real choice is to take it. Because of that, if the worst happens, I'll only have one regret- not making the most of this opportunity."

Sae nodded. I was tempted to say that I'd regret that Sae would be executed along with me if I failed, but while I'd be heartbroken if that happened, Sae had been the one who'd decided to stake her life.

"I understand," Sae said. "You wouldn't be the only one, though. I agreed to take the risk along with you, so I won't give up until the mastermind is caught. I'm glad that you would only have that one regret."

I nodded appreciatively.

"Well, there is one other thing I'd regret, Sae," I said. "Not telling you how I feel. A part of me was afraid of you rejecting me or of ending up dead, but I know I've waited too long. If you died without knowing that I love you..."

I trailed off, but Sae shook her head with a smile.

"I _do_ know, Kaori," Sae said. "I've known for some time, and simply wanted to wait to give you a chance to come out and say it. I don't begrudge you for waiting- I'm just happy to know that you feel the same way about me that I do about you."

"Y-you do?" I said.

"I do," Sae said. "You've always been the one I trusted and enjoyed spending time with the most, so while I appreciated the fact that you treated everyone well, I hoped I was still special in your eyes. I don't know if we'll have a future together after this trial, or if we get out of the school, but knowing that you love me is enough."

We stood in silence for a moment. In hindsight, it was obvious that Sae had loved me, but I'd needed to hear it myself, so that I could know it wasn't my imagination and that she was willing to come out and say it. She'd always been more at ease with loving girls than I had been, but now, I had to wonder what I'd been so afraid of.

Shortly afterward, the three boys arrived.

"Are we interrupting anything?" Inoue-kun said.

"Not really," I said. "Let's continue this discussion after the trial, Sae."

Sae nodded. If we got through this trial, then we'd have all the time in the world to talk things through, and possibly build a life together. If not... then at the very least, I could die knowing that Sae loved me.

"Anyway, now that the five of us are here, I have a question," I said. "Did Monokuma give you all pictures?"

The others nodded and got out their pictures. Tezuka-kun's had the fifteen of us besides him sitting in class during the summer, wearing the summer uniforms. Sae's showed me, along with our 14 classmates and a few others, in the dining hall, at what looked like a birthday party for Mitamura-san. Inoue-kun's showed everyone besides him on what looked like a school trip to Kyoto. Kagami-kun's showed us playing outside in the snow- and guess who wasn't in the photo?

"So we all got similar photos," Kagami-kun said, "and there's no way of telling which, if any, of them might be fake."

"It's possible this doesn't mean anything," I said, "and this is Monokuma's way of taunting us, by saying that all the information we have won't help us. He said that much when I asked him about the photos"

Speaking of the information, I thought about the four people who'd helped me in the investigation. While none of them had tried to conceal or destroy evidence, if only to make it seem like they were cooperating, one of them clearly wanted me to come to the wrong conclusion. Perhaps they could achieve that by giving me evidence to suggest a wrong theory, and the only question was who- I had a good idea, though.

Monokuma then came on the monitor's screen.

"All right," Monokuma said. "It's time for the last Class Trial, so please board the elevator down to the courtroom."

We rode the elevator down one last time, all of us painfully aware that it was practically empty by now. I looked at the four remaining other survivors. Once again, one of us was a traitor, but a far worse one than those who had come before us. They were responsible for our plight, not out of some desperation or even desire for freedom, but out of some cold, calculating malice.

Even now, after succeeding in five trials before, it was difficult to accept that one of my friends, who'd been with me every step of the way, was the mastermind. Could it be Inoue-kun, who was a bit pessimistic but never actually gave up? Could it be Kagami-kun, the one who understood our situation best of all but never lost his head? Could it be Tezuka-kun, who could often be flippant and rude but always said what he meant? Or could it be Sae, my favorite author, my best friend and the first girl I ever loved?

The answer to that question would be difficult to accept, but I swore that I'd uncover the mastermind for the sake of the dead and the living. With that resolution, our final class trial began.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Since everyone who's made it this far already knows about their missing memories and the downfall of civilization, what's left to reveal? How about the school's dark secrets?

It's somewhat silly that some of the cast of the original Danganronpa suspect each other based on the photos, so I made the conversation about the photos be a jab at that.

The final class trial will now begin. I'm interested in hearing who you think the mastermind is, although I suspect it's fairly obvious by this point.

The omake shows one of the memories, a snapshot that illustrates the roots of Mitamura's one-sided (albeit subdued) animosity toward Edogawa.

* * *

 **Omake**

On September 15, we held a student council meeting after school, as always, even though our treasurer was ill, having come down with a fever that morning. When it came time for dinner, though, Mitamura-san got a surprise... a birthdya party in her honor. A few of us had birthday celebrations before, mainly organized by our friends, but Mitamura-san was a bit surprised that we'd gone to all the trouble.

During the party, Nagato-sensei took several photos- from Mitamura-san blowing out all 17 candles to one of all of us eating cake.

As the event was winding down, I walked up to the birthday girl, who was standing by herself.

"Happy birthday, Mitamura-san," I said. "You're probably sick of hearing that, but I'd just like to say it one more time."

"Thank you, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," I said, "but Sae did a lot of the work to set up the party, even if she couldn't make it."

"Ah, I see," Mitamura-san said, less happy than I'd thought she'd be. It was as though she'd received a gift she didn't want, but had to be polite about receiving it... or perhaps her displeasure was with the gift giver.

I nodded, then thought for a moment. While Mitamura-san was always at least civil to people, there were some people she liked more than others. While she didn't have any real friends, she seemed to enjoy her time with Iwasawa-san, but only spent time with Sae because they were on the student council together (and Sae was there because I'd invited her).

"By the way, Mitamura-san," I said, "I notice you don't seem to like Sae for some reason."

"Edogawa-san and I may not be friends, but I do not consider her an enemy," Mitamura-san said. "Saying I dislike her would be overly blunt."

"But is it incorrect?" I said. "While you keep a little distance from all of us, I do notice things are always a bit awkward between you and Sae, even if you're polite to each other."

Mitamura-san shook her head.

"To tell you the truth, Edogawa-san... makes me feel uncomfortable," Mitamura-san said. "She is intelligent and talented, enough so that she could best me if she had focused entirely on her studies, but she chooses not to. If I am head of the class and leader of the student body, it is less because I have earned it, and more because she allowed me to take it."

"So are you jealous of her?" I said.

Mitamura-san hesitated, taken aback for a moment.

"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said. "But more importantly, Edogawa-san forces me to question my own choices. Have I earned what I have accomplished for myself, or has it simply been given to me? How many other more deserving people are there out there who choose not to compete with me, and are they perhaps wiser than I am?"

I shook my head.

"Sae's just as human as everyone else here," I said. "If she's an honor student or a great mystery novelist, it's because she works hard at her studies and her writing. You shouldn't let the fact that her success _seems_ easy let you lose sight of how much you've accomplished through your own hard work."

"I will keep that in mind," Mitamura-san said. "Please tell Edogawa-san that I am grateful for her efforts to wish me a happy birthday."

I nodded, then headed back to Sae's room so that I could bring her a little dinner and see if her fever had gone down. Perhaps it was too much to expect all of us to be friends, but I hoped that in addition to being able to coexist, we could learn to respect one another, and accept our differences.


	28. Chapter VI, Part 2

_Class Trial_

We returned to the courtroom for the last time. Roughly two thirds of the court was represented by portraits now, a disturbing testament to how many we'd lost. Sugiura-san's was the newest addition, with a crossbones-style X that seemed more at home on a warning label for a poisonous chemical than in a fancy restaurant. The walls were covered in a cold steel gray, almost like a highly Spartan futuristic base or a tomb.

One way or another, this would be the final class trial. If we succeeded, then we'd get to leave the school. If we lost, then the mastermind and the two other students would be the only ones left, and with Monokuma only allowing two students to leave at the end of the game, they'd have to decide who would live and who would die. Obviously, I preferred the former outcome, so I decided to give this trial everything I had, knowing that it wasn't just for my and Sae's sakes.

"Since this final class trial is a little different, I'm gonna explain the rules to you," Monokuma said. "Your ultimate goal this time is to identify the mastermind responsible for putting you all in here. If you identify them and vote to convict them, they die and you go free. If you can't do that, then Edogawa-san and Miura-san get punished. Any questions?"

While Sae and I, as well as the mastermind, were the only ones whose lives were at stake in the trial, I had to wonder why Monokuma gave the other two boys a free pass. Perhaps he wanted them to suspect each other, or perhaps make the wrong choice. In any case, I knew all too well that his actions were never motivated by kindness or mercy.

"But let's not get ahead of ourselves," Monokuma said. "First things first- you've got to prove that you've learned everything there is to know about this school. Let's start off with a question- why are you bastards here?"

What Monokuma had asked was so vague that it seemed more like a philosophical query than an actual question that warranted an answer. Because of that, I hoped that Monokuma would accept any response that fit a valid interpretation of his question, even if it wasn't the one he was looking for.

"Do you mean why we're trapped in here?" I said. "The school enacted a plan to shelter its students from the Tragedy by sealing them inside the school... a plan that we all agreed to take part in. At some point after the Hope's Peak killing school life, _someone_ took over our school and forced us into a killing game."

"Wait a minute," Inoue-kun said. "I know we all lost our memories, so we probably don't remember agreeing to this, but how do you _know_ we did?"

"I viewed a DVD," I said. "Every single member of our class gave our consent to stay in Talent High School as long as possible- even the rest of our lives. It wasn't an easy decision, but we all knew it was the only way to stay safe."

Inoue-kun furrowed his brow.

"You might be right," Inoue-kun said, "but I'm still having a hard time that all of us would so easily decide to stay in this school, knowing that everyone we cared about was outside the relative safety of these walls."

"Which is why it wasn't easy," I said. "In the end, it wasn't about us choosing between saving ourselves and helping our families, but saving ourselves and dying along with our families. Choosing the former option wasn't an ideal proposition, but it was the only choice that made sense."

"I guess," Inoue-kun said. "When you put it like that, I'd probably choose that."

I wished that at least one of those with many siblings- Akasaka-san, Katsura-san, Fukuda-kun or Sugiura-san- was still around, so I'd hear their perspectives as an amnesiac who'd forgotten the decision. What's done was done, though, but at least the others believed what they'd heard. I then turned to Monokuma.

"Well, Monokuma?" I said. "Does that answer your question?"

"Partially," Monokuma said. "You've provided a pretty good explanation for why you lot are inside this school, but you're missing something pretty big. As you said, this sweet deal's only for Talent High School students, so how did you get invited to Talent High School in the first place?"

I sighed, knowing that the answer to this question would be more complex and less pleasant. The reason behind answering this question was obvious- so that the public who was watching this show would become aware of Talent High School's raison d'etre. Still, it had to be said, and a part of me wondered if the time had come for the public to learn the truth.

"The short answer is on the basis of talent," I said. "At least in most of our cases, Talent High School chose those of us who were the best at what we did in our age group and hadn't gotten invited to Hope's Peak."

"And?" Monokuma said. "What about the rest of you?"

"That's what I'm getting to," I said. "Some of us were chosen due to being relatives of Talent High School's board of directors and other people who worked for the school, since the school was established to create a prestigious educational institution for the founders' relatives. Mitamura-san was apparently related to the chairman himself, while Iwasawa-san was the distant relative of a member on the board."

"What about the other fourteen students?" Inoue-kun said. "Isn't it possible that any one us could be related to someone involved with the school, from the chairman of the board to the groundskeeper?"

"That's a bit tricky," I said. "None of the other board members' surnames match any of yours, but it's possible that you're related to them on your mothers' sides of your respective families. So let me read off a list of them and tell me if you're related to any of them."

I recited the full names of all the members of the board, including the two men I'd just mentioned, but no one claimed to be related to any of them.

"Well, that puts some holes in your theory, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "Maybe it's just a coincidence that Mitamura-san and Iwasawa-san were relatives of Talent High School bigwigs. Whaddaya say to that?"

"I stand by what I said, since there's an explanation as to why the rest of us were chosen," I said. "While this school may exist for the benefit of the children and relatives of those who founded it, they still need talented graduates to enhance the school's prestige. Kagami-kun, I believe you once told me about the story of Stone Soup while we were exploring the fifth floor, didn't you?"

"Indeed I did, Miura-san," Kagami-kun said. "It's certainly a fitting story for this school. With nothing but a pot and a stone, the founders managed to make a meal for themselves by getting everyone else to contribute a little something in hopes of sharing in the gain. It's a rather devious and self-serving plan, but it certainly worked."

"Exactly," I said. "Schools do need their students, after all, or at least students who are willing to follow the rules and learn the material. If Talent High School's graduates go on to accomplish great things- never mind that it was because they were talented in the first place- then it only seems logical that a diploma from this school would become a mark of honor."

Oddly enough, while Kagami-kun's tone conveyed subdued disapproval, he didn't seem at all surprised. By comparison, Inoue-kun, the only person who hadn't heard about this, stared with his mouth gaping open.

"I... I don't believe this," Inoue-kun said. "My dad was always a bit skeptical about Talent High School, but he always believed going there would help me get into a good college and good job."

"That was always the goal for this school," I said. "After all, the school needed some sort of incentive to convince the talented students to accept being invited."

"That's right, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "Inoue-kun aside, I was expecting a bigger reaction from the rest of you."

"Kaori told me the details in advance," Sae said, "so if I'm not hearing it for the first time, I have no reason to be surprised."

"And I'm the one who showed Miura the document, so I was the first to find out," Tezuka-kun said. "Only Inoue and Kagami seemed to miss the memo."

I had to wonder about Kagami-kun's lack of reaction, but I put that aside for now. Even if I could question him about that, Monokuma wasn't willing to let us skip ahead to that part of the trial.

"It's as Sae and Tezuka-kun said," I said. "Are you disappointed, Monokuma?"

"Kinda," Monokuma said, hanging his head. "I was hoping you brats would be a lot more disturbed to realize that you were probably chosen for no good reason."

I shook my head. Maybe Monokuma and/or the mastermind hadn't predicted that Sae, Inoue-kun, Kagami-kun, Tezuka-kun and I would be the last five alive, but I believed that Mitamura-san would have been the only one truly shaken by knowing about why she was here- assuming she hadn't suspected already.

"Apart from the fact that none of the five of us are are related to Talent High School administrators, I think most of our talents are genuine," I said. "I might be biased, but Sae's books have achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim. Tezuka-kun is a well-known and well-respected young artist with a unique style. As for Inoue-kun, he once told me that he had a reputation as a linguistic prodigy- after all, not many teenagers know a dozen languages, right?"

"Nein, Fraulein Miura," Inoue-kun said, shaking his head. As usual, it didn't go all that far in proving that he knew German, but I'd seen him reading books in foreign languages before, so it was clear that he wasn't faking his talent.

"I agree," Sae said. "Shinichi-kun was somewhat well-known at my old school. I'd heard about him, even though we hadn't really spoken back then."

"What about the two of us, Miura-san?" Kagami-kun said. "For a long time, I've felt as though we were the only ones who didn't fit in, but there had to be a reason why we were chosen, wasn't there?"

The time had come to reveal the truth behind Kagami-kun's talent and reason for being admitted... assuming, of course, he didn't know by now.

"We... were apparently special," I said. "Talent High School's claim of researching talent was a lie, but they had to present some sort of findings in order to keep people fooled. That's why they chose me- to claim that they were making significant breakthroughs by understanding my rare and mysterious talent."

Kagami-kun simply nodded, apparently not surprised. It was hard to tell if he didn't feel anything, or simply chose not to show it.

"And what about me?" Kagami-kun said.

"You're the Ultimate Copycat," I said, "someone who possesses a photographic memory and can reproduce anything just by seeing it. I don't know if that's the talent you hoped for, but it's the one they saw in you."

I could have sworn I saw Kagami-kun turn up his nose at the mention of his talent, but since he was some distance away, I might have been imagining things. It hardly seemed like a reaction characteristic of someone who'd wanted to remember his talent, but maybe he was just disappointed.

"That's an interesting suggestion," Kagami-kun said, "but how do you know it's me?"

"Process of elimination," I said. "The headmistress' diary referred to the students in Class 32 by their talent. Out of the sixteen of us, the thirteen 'normal' Ultimates were listed first. Their talents should sound familiar..."

I then listed all the talents for everyone's information.

"In other words, everyone besides you, Kaori, and Sugiura-san," Sae said, turning to Kagami-kun. "Kaori just mentioned her Ultimate Beginner's Luck. Sugiura-san was both the Ultimate Waitress and the Ultimate Poisoner, as well as the _only_ student with more than one talent in the school's history. The Ultimate Copycat, however, is referred to as 'he' and 'this boy,' while all the other male students' talents are listed in the entry."

"So Kagami-kun's the only one who can be the Ultimate Copycat," Inoue-kun said. "Hypothetically speaking, though, what if the Ultimate Copycat is actually pretending to be one of the other students?"

"Do you mean pretending to have another student's talent while concealing their own talent as the Ultimate Copycat?" Sae said. "As the document said, Sugiura-san is the only student with more than one Ultimate talent."

"That's what I was getting at," Inoue-kun said. "It's just a theory, though."

I shook my head.

"As I said, the other students have their own reputations," I said. "The Ultimate Copycat couldn't easily have published so much stolen artwork without getting caught, so I don't think he's Tezuka-kun."

"That's right," Tezuka-kun said. "And what about Inoue?"

"Let's say that Inoue-kun is the Ultimate Copycat pretending to be the Ultimate Linguist," I said. "Since the list mentions all sixteen students with unique talents, wouldn't that make Kagami-kun the _actual_ Ultimate Linguist?"

"Probably," Tezuka-kun said, "but I've never heard Kagami say or read a word of any language other than Japanese. I guess that settles it- he's the Ultimate Copycat."

Kagami-kun furrowed his brow after hearing that.

"I suppose that's true," Kagami-kun said, "but I don't see how this bit of information is relevant."

I let off a sigh and shook my head. While Kagami-kun hadn't spoken up much in the earlier trials, he wasn't usually this argumentative... at least until Sugiura-san was suspected of being the previous killer.

"It might be," I said. "It's certainly possible that such a student had a grudge against Talent High School, as a result of being recruited 'by any means necessary,' and so..."

"Hold it!" Monokuma said. "As much as I'm enjoying this discussion, Miura-san, you're getting off topic. Keep the discussion to Talent High School, please."

I reluctantly nodded, knowing it was unwise to anger Monokuma at this point. That said, I was honestly unsure what more needed to be said to answer his questions.

"All right," I said. "Still, Monokuma, we did answer your questions, didn't you? We proved why we're trapped inside this school and what brought us here, didn't we?"

"You sure did," Monokuma said, "but there's one more question. Who's responsible for locking you all inside the school?"

I was tempted to say that Monokuma and the mastermind were, since they were the ones behind the killing game, but I knew that wasn't the answer. Monokuma had asked who had locked us in, not who was keeping us here, so I thought carefully.

"Mitamura-san did," I said. "She was given the Master Control to the school, and used it to lock the front door. She'd probably waited as long as she could for the teachers to find Class 32, our senpais, or at least return with news of their failure, but didn't want to risk herself and the other students."

"That's partly true, Miura-san, but you're missing the point," Monokuma said. "Who set up the big door and steel plates on the windows?"

I paused for a moment. While my answers so far had met Monokuma's standards, things could potentially turn very bad if I didn't give a satisfactory answer. Luckily, I knew exactly what to say.

"We did," I said. "We worked to sealed ourselves in the school so that we could stay safe from the Tragedy, not knowing that our sanctuary would become a prison."

"That's right!" Monokuma said. "You never realized until it was too late that you'd been betrayed by one of your own before the doors even shut, putting a fox in the henhouse. Now there's one question... who's the mastermind?"

I looked around for a moment. I had a good idea who this person was, but was a bit hesitant to formally accuse them until I'd gotten enough proof to conclusively and convincingly identify them as the mastermind. Tezuka-kun, however, didn't hesitate.

"Just double-checking," Tezuka-kun said, "but the mastermind's one of the five of us, right?"

"Of course!" Monokuma said. "The good news is that unlike the Hope's Peak killing game, the mastermind didn't fake their death, and is standing in the courtroom at this very moment. The bad news is that one of your so-called 'friends' has betrayed you since you first got here, and is partly responsible for all the death here!"

A chill went through me. If Monokuma was telling the truth, my theory was most likely correct, for better or worse. If I was correct, then Sae and I, along with the other two spotless, would survive and possibly escape, at long last.

Of course, it would also mean realizing that one of us was the culprit responsible for all the death and killing. I thought of my classmates as comrades in a sense, as people who'd been thrust into the killing game, and who'd work together to escape from it. The last thing I wanted was for the killing game to end with one more death, even if the person who died was the one responsible for it.

"Are you sure about that?" Inoue-kun said. "I'd rather not take your word for it, you know."

"I don't think he's lying," Sae said. "We had ample opportunities to examine the murder victims' bodies and confirm that they were, in fact, dead. As for those who were executed, we saw them perish ourselves, in ways that would make it virtually impossible for them to fake their deaths."

"True," I said. "I checked the bio lab earlier and found eleven bodies in there- the nine who died before today, as well as Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san. There's virtually no chance that a body double was used at any point."

I recalled hearing that Enoshima and her sister had been twins, but fraternal twins didn't look exactly alike. Ikusaba-san probably looked different enough from Enoshima that a careful observer could have found them out, which may have been why Enoshima disposed of her sister at almost the first possible opportunity.

"So, if Miura-san and Sae are betting their lives to unmask the mastermind, it sounds like it's probably Kagami-kun or Tezuka-kun," Inoue-kun said. "I know I'm a suspect too, but for what it's worth, I'd like to say that I'm not the mastermind."

"I, too, would like to claim innocence," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, I'm fairly sure that Tezuka-kun would like to do so as well."

Tezuka-kun nervously chuckled. He wasn't convinced that protesting his own innocence was an especially strong argument in his favor, but he must have known that we didn't have any evidence to accuse him. Of course, it was a bit of an awkward situation now that the two other main suspects had said the thing he'd hoped to say himself.

"Yep, Kagami took the words out of my mouth there," Tezuka-kun said. "Then again, all three of us can't be right, can we?"

"Maybe we can," Kagami-kun said. "Is it really a good idea to rule out Miura-san or Edogawa-san?"

"What do you mean?" Inoue-kun said. "If that's true, and one of them is the mastermind, won't she die either way?"

"That's how Ultimate Despair is," Kagami-kun said. "Not only do they not care about the lives of other people, but they don't value their own lives, either. Enoshima killed her own sister so that she could feel the despair of losing a loved one. Once she was defeated, she willingly- no, gleefully- went to her own execution, relishing the despair from her own death."

My blood went cold. The trial had only just started, and now, Kagami-kun was trying to lead us down the wrong path. Perhaps he wasn't wrong to think that Sae might be part of Ultimate Despair, but I knew that wasn't true. But how would I go about proving that?

In all the previous trials, the killers had been motivated by rational desires- the first three wanted to get out of here and stay alive, so they fought the accusations for as long as they could. Even Fukuda-kun and Sugiura-san, who'd wanted to be convicted in the end, still put up a fight for the sake of appearances, so that Monokuma would spare the Fukuda family, and count Iwasawa-san's death as a murder, respectively. If Sae was the mastermind, then this could only end in her death.

"Maybe," Inoue-kun said, "but what are you getting at? If Sae was the mastermind, all she had to do was say nothing, and Monokuma wouldn't have accepted Miura-san's wager. I consider Miura-san a friend, but I doubt I'm close enough to her to make a good enough hostage."

I nodded. While I felt a bit bad about implying that Inoue-kun wasn't nearly as important with me as Sae was, I appreciated that he'd spoken out in favor of me.

"That's true," I said. "In fact, there's no guarantee that Monokuma would have even accepted my suggestion, since if he didn't want us to find the mastermind, he could simply have refused to even consider my proposal. I also didn't know that Sae would back me up."

"It's possible that you made the suggestion to throw suspicion off yourself," Kagami-kun said, "not knowing that Monokuma would accept it until it was too late."

"Because as the mastermind, I was looking forward to being unmasked and defeated?" I said. "Even if Enoshima was that thrilled about being executed, she didn't invite her own defeat- she fought to the bitter end."

Even though I still didn't feel as though I understood Enoshima at all, Kagami-kun seemed to accept my point, at least for now.

"True," Kagami-kun said. "While I do think you're still a suspect, I mainly brought this up for the sake of argument. I do have a much better suspect- namely, Edogawa-san."

I turned white. While I knew Sae was innocent, the same couldn't be said for the two who weren't the mastermind, and it was possible that by naming Sae as a suspect, Kagami-kun could turn them against me.

"Why her?" I said.

"I know you don't want to suspect her, but consider this theory for a moment," Kagami-kun said. "From the very beginning, she saw you as a potential pawn, and cultivated your feelings for her so that her betrayal would be all the more painful. Perhaps she cared for you, too, but all this led up to this final class trial- in which you'd fail to uncover her as the mastermind, resulting in her dying with the knowledge that you'd soon follow her. If you did uncover her, you'd survive, but with the knowledge that someone dear to you had betrayed you. She'd die either way, but for someone who doesn't care about her own life, it would be a win-win situation. What do you say to that, Edogawa-san?"

Sae simply looked on, helpless. Nothing she said could conclusively prove that she wasn't the mastermind, and even naming another suspect would come off as shifting the blame.

I turned to Inoue-kun, who was possibly Sae's closest friend besides me now that Yuuki-san was dead, but he wasn't willing to dismiss the theory out of hand.

"I hate to admit it, but that _is_ a possibility," Inoue-kun said. "Monokuma, what happens if Sae is the mastermind and we find her guilty?"

"It's just like all the trials to date," Monokuma said. "She alone will be executed, and you'll all go free- and this time, the rest of you get to leave the school. If, however, she's the mastermind, and you choose someone else, both Miura-san _and_ Edogawa-san will be executed."

"In other words, the killing game ends either way," I said. "I doubt Monokuma or the mastermind- whoever they are- would let it happen."

"Hey, it's not my first choice," Monokuma said, "but the game's pretty much over now that only five of you are left- and it's gonna go down to three if you don't get the mastermind right."

I turned back to Inoue-kun, and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Miura-san," Inoue-kun said, "but if Sae's the mastermind, then as Kagami-kun said, she'll die no matter what. In that case, convicting her will be the only way to save your life."

" _If_ , Inoue-kun," I said. "It's possible that one of us suffers from the nihilistic insanity that defines Ultimate Despair, and that such a person may be good at hiding it, but I don't think the mastermind is part of Ultimate Despair."

"What makes you think that?" Kagami-kun said.

"After Sakuragi-kun was executed, Monokuma said something interesting," I said. "He said he didn't especially care for the current mastermind's reasons for organizing this killing game. Because of that, I'm almost certain that the mastermind isn't part of Ultimate Despair."

Monokuma clapped his paws over his mouth, likely never having expected such an offhand comment to come back to haunt him.

"You're sure about that?" Kagami-kun said. "The depravity needed to think of a game in which teenagers kill each other is certainly characteristic of Ultimate Despair."

"Maybe it is," I said, "but Monokuma never needed any of us to adhere to Enoshima's twisted philosophy- he simply hit us where it hurt. Sakuragi-kun couldn't give up on his dreams. Mitamura-san was afraid of having her reputation ruined. Hoshino-kun believed graduation was his only chance of escaping. Katsura-san, Fukuda-kun and Sugiura-san's loved ones were threatened. Because we all valued our lives and had things we couldn't give up, Monokuma tried to tempt us. Maybe the mastermind isn't like Enoshima, but has a secret agenda of their own."

Kagami-kun shook his head.

"That's a good point," Inoue-kun said. "It doesn't prove Sae _isn't_ the mastermind, but now that I think about it, it seems likely that the mastermind isn't part of Ultimate Despair. If that's true, as it probably is, then I can't think of any motive Sae might had that would convince her to start the killing game."

Sae nodded gratefully. She didn't expect blind loyalty from Inoue-kun, so she was probably glad that he seriously considered the accusation against her and thought it through enough to realize that it was unlikely to be true.

"So you're saying it's one of the guys, Inoue-kun?" Kagami-kun said.

"Quite possibly, Kagami-kun," Inoue-kun said. "If Sae was the mastermind, and believed this would end in her own death regardless of whether Miura-san unmasked her, then there would be no point in exempting us."

"Yeah, but something's odd," Tezuka-kun said. "Unlike before, the mastermind's hiding among us, and thus facing the same dangers we do, whether getting killed by someone who wants to graduate, or executed if they don't find the blackened."

"I suppose so," I said, "but the mastermind could take steps to stay out of harm's way. They wouldn't be completely safe, but by being cautious, they could minimize their risk of death."

"But everyone wants to get out of here, right?" Inoue-kun said. "In that case, anyone could have committed an unsolvable murder and gotten the spotless executed, including the mastermind. While the mastermind is far from innocent, they'd count as a spotless, wouldn't they?"

"Definitely!" Monokuma said. "They knew the risks when they chose to play the game. Junko-sama, however, sat back and watched, so she wouldn't have been executed if someone had graduated. Her sister would've, though... if she'd made it to the trial."

Once again, Monokuma more or less confirmed my belief that Enoshima was a coward. That was beside the point, though.

"That's possible, Shinichi-kun," Sae said, "but since the mastermind had access to the surveillance cameras, they could have reviewed the footage, and subtly steered the trial toward finding the actual culprit if it seemed clear that we wouldn't uncover the killer by ourselves."

"Yeah, but what if they were the murder victim?" Tezuka-kun said. "Then there wouldn't even be a class trial, right?"

"Excellent point, Tezuka-kun!" Monokuma said. "People die when they're killed, and the mastermind's no exception!"

I had to wonder what would have happened if Sakuragi-kun had murdered Kagami-kun rather than Kurogane-kun- perhaps no one else would have died. It was an obvious possibility, so clearly, the mastermind had foreseen it when making their plans.

"Since all of us have survived this long, I'm sure we know of at least a few ways to avoid being killed," I said. "The first one I can think of is not to make any enemies. Tell me, do any of you know someone in here, dead or alive, who hated you enough to kill you?"

Tezuka-kun shrugged.

"I never did get along with Hoshino," Tezuka-kun said. "I dunno if he would've killed me, but pretty much everybody got along with Akasaka and Yuuki, so he probably wouldn't have held back."

"Mitamura-san distrusted me," Sae said, "and Kurogane-kun probably disliked me after I took your side in your dispute with him. I doubt either of them would have seriously contemplated killing me, though."

"I don't know anyone like that," Inoue-kun said. "There were some people I never talked with much, and some of the blackened were willing to let me die along with everyone else, but I can't think of anyone who _hated_ me."

"Neither do I," Kagami-kun said. "Sugiura-san might have suspected me of being the mastermind, but since she never tried to kill me, she probably didn't hate me that much."

I sighed, hoping that this question would yield more of a lead. It was too early to give up on this line of questioning though, so I decided to try again.

"Let me ask you a different question," I said. "Do any of you have any close friends who you couldn't bear to see die?"

"Besides you, Kaori?" Sae said. "I wish I could have had more time to get to know Yuuki-san, and I had a surprising amount in common with Katsura-san. Among the living, though, I've enjoyed talking with Shinichi-kun and becoming friends with him."

"I agree, Sae," Inoue-kun said, "and I also like talking with Tezuka-kun. Sorry, Miura-san, Kagami-kun- I'm not trying to snub you two."

Tezuka-kun nodded in agreement with Inoue-kun.

"Not anyone in particular," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, I've gotten this far with all of you, so I feel like we're pretty close."

"I feel the same way," I said. "Sae's... special to me, but you three are also important friends, and after losing so many, I've realized how important it is to keep them close. That's why I don't want to believe any of you might be the culprit."

"That's fair enough," Kagami-kun said. "I suppose you're trying to say that if Edogawa-san has people she cares about, she can't be Ultimate Despair, can she?"

"I have a hard time imagining her killing people dear to her," I said. "As I said before, her surviving family- at least her sister- still seem to be alive."

"Try to think of it differently," Kagami-kun said. "The members of Ultimate Despair didn't kill their families because they didn't love them- they did it because they _did_ love those people and wanted to feel the despair of losing people precious to them."

Once again, Kagami-kun had me in a tight spot. Sae's determination to find another solution to the "hostage situation" motive could be construed as being done out of disregard for the hostages' lives, including Sae's older sister.

"If that's true, then I'm curious about one thing," I said. "Why is Sae's only hostage her older sister?"

"What do you mean?" Kagami-kun said.

"My mother died when I was young, and my father's whereabouts are unknown," Sae said. "I think Kaori's trying to say that if I wanted to kill my loved ones, I'd have Father as my hostage as well... assuming that I hadn't killed him and my sister already."

"That's true," I said. "Either Sae would have killed all her family by now, or ensured that all of them were kept alive so she could watch them be executed."

Kagami-kun scoffed. He was remarkably persistent in insisting that Sae was the mastermind, so I had to wonder why he hadn't seriously considered accusing me, who was almost as much of a suspect as Sae was.

"Assuming her hostage notepad's telling the truth," Kagami-kun said.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Sae said. "In any case, it's telling us more than yours is."

"It's hardly my fault that I got a broken ransom notepad," Kagami-kun said, "not any more that it's Iwasawa-san's fault for getting a faulty battery in her weakness notepad, or Sugiura-san's fault for getting a defective memory card. Iwasawa-san mentioned this at dinner two nights ago, didn't she?"

Kagami-kun then got out his ransom notepad, and tried to turn it on, evidently having anticipated this line of questioning. Sae seemed at a loss for words, but after a moment, I realized what to say.

"I'm not so sure it's just a random malfunction," I said. "Just before we came here, I tested my ransom notepad by throwing it into the sauna. It overheated and broke down almost instantly... and looked just like yours did. Since we don't go into the sauna on a regular basis, it's most likely that you deliberately broke your notepad."

Kagami-kun gulped. Judging from his reaction, I didn't need to show him the notepad.

"Why would I do that?" Kagami-kun said.

"To prevent us from realizing who in your family was held hostage," I said, "assuming anyone was. I only know of two people without immediate family as their hostage- Iwasawa-san and you. In Iwasawa-san's case, Monokuma struggled to find a relative after her village was destroyed in the Tragedy, but in your case, I'm guessing that you don't need any incentive to participate in the killing game... since you have no intention of participating at all."

"None of the five of us have tried to kill anyone," Kagami-kun said, "and even Sugiura-san wasn't planning on graduating. What's your point?"

I glanced at Sae, who silently nodded in approval and trust. Even when trust could be betrayed and individuals could put their safety before that of the group, I couldn't have gotten this far without Sae, who'd helped me in the investigations, given me advice and provided support as a friend... and possibly a lover. We'd staked our lives together, so she trusted me to make the right choice, and I had no intention of letting her down.

I paused for a moment to collect myself. Despite my doubts and unwillingness to suspect one of my friends, we'd only survived because we'd identified the wrongdoer at each and every turn. It was never an easy decision to point the finger at someone, since we were putting our lives on the line, but each time, I had ample evidence showing who the blackened was. I'd known all along who the true mastermind was, and that the only way to bring the killing game to an end was to expose that person. For the sake of everyone who'd died so far, and those who were still alive, the time had come for me to name the person who'd been our enemy since the start of the game.

"I know who the mastermind is," I said. "It's you, Kagami-kun."

Kagami-kun sighed and shook his head.

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself, Miura-san?" Kagami-kun said. "You do know that if you're wrong, you and Edogawa-san will be executed, don't you?"

"I am," I said. "In fact, it's funny that you'd say that. Before Sugiura-san was executed, you were fairly sure that she was the mastermind."

"She was suspicious, wasn't she?" Kagami-kun said. "She was bitter about being branded a murderer, and so had an obvious motive for wanting revenge on this school."

"She did," I said, "so she, along with you, was one of my primary suspects for being the mastermind. Of course, I couldn't get too attached to any one theory- for all I knew, Sae might have been the mastermind."

Kagami-kun seemed a bit taken aback for a moment. Maybe he hadn't realized how much of a suspect he'd been in my eyes, or maybe he thought he'd been more careful. Of course, while in hindsight, it seemed obvious, if I'd made a wrong move and killed someone who wasn't the mastermind, I probably would have become the fifth blackened instead of Sugiura-san.

"And yet, you seemed adamant in your refusal to consider Edogawa-san a suspect," Kagami-kun said.

"Perhaps," I said, "but I actually had reasons to rule her out... including that I'm sure that you're the mastermind. As for you, it seemed as though once Sugiura-san died, you needed someone else to use as a scapegoat for the mastermind. That may be why you went to the second floor of the dorms to get information on Ultimate Despair- to point the finger at Sae. That's why you showed me the document about Ultimate Despair, didn't you?"

Now that I thought about it, Kagami-kun was the only one who had seemingly deliberately gone to a place that would not be useful in finding the culprit or learning the secrets about the school. By comparison, Tezuka-kun had helped me find out about the school's raison d'etre, Sae had helped me realize Kagami-kun's true talent and find the Shelter Plan consent forms, and Inoue-kun had been on the verge of finding some crucial information when I'd convinced him to leave the room.

Kagami-kun gave me a disapproving look.

"And I assume you have some proof for this?" Kagami-kun said.

Sae and I glanced at each other and nodded. It was time to go through the events of the past few weeks, case by case, and show how Kagami-kun was suspicious.

"Certainly," I said. "Kagami-kun, could you please tell us what your murder weapon is?"

Kagami-kun firmly shook his head, his expression disdainful.

"I honestly don't see the point," Kagami-kun said. "Assuming I am the mastermind, how could you possibly prove that using what weapon I got?"

"The proof lies in the list of weapons," I said, showing him the list. "According to the list, you got a tazer. Using that weapon, you had a means of stopping an attacker without killing them. After all, Fukuda-kun's case was a shining example of what happens when someone panics and accidentally ends up becoming a murderer."

Tazers weren't foolproof when it came to disabling people without killing them, but they were probably better for self-defense than any of Monokuma's other offerings. I didn't point out the shortcomings, so as to avoid undermining our case, but luckily, Kagami-kun didn't think to protest it.

"And what about my weakness?" Kagami-kun said. "You might recall that they were divided into two categories- things that facilitated your murder and secrets you didn't want to be revealed. The former's obviously dangerous to me, and the latter even more so- after all, there's a chance that it would say 'Sousuke Kagami is the mastermind behind the killing game,' thus giving someone reason to kill me."

Kagami-kun raised a valid suggestion, one that I couldn't disprove since the file I'd read didn't have that information. What it did have, however, was enough to poke a hole in the basis for his argument.

"It's true that someone with that information would be a serious threat to you," I said, "which was why you ensured that you got your own weakness. As such, you wouldn't be in any danger unless the time ran out- and you must have believed Mitamura-san would act first. After all, that's the point of the killing game, isn't it? Giving us a little nudge and letting us kill each other."

"And what about yours?" Kagami-kun said. "You certainly got lucky, having a weakness that is, at worst, mildly embarrassing."

"I was curious about that," I said. "Ordinarily, I would have been most concerned about keeping the fact that I'm a lesbian secret, but Yuuki-san suggested that she already knew. As such, it's possible that the mastermind knew about it, and retained his memories of our time at school."

"Quite true," Inoue-kun said. "By the way, I've noticed that Kagami-kun was always the most calm and collected of all of us, not just those of us who are still here."

"That's true," I said. "In my conversations with him, he seemed to best understand the rules of the killing game, possibly because he made it himself."

"Technically, our mastermind didn't invent the killing game," Monokuma said. "It was none other than Junko-sama."

So Monokuma wasn't denying that Kagami-kun was the mastermind, but he wasn't supporting it, either. Obviously, he wouldn't give the mastermind's identity away, but perhaps he'd be willing to let us choose the wrong answer and pay for that choice with our lives... or at least let us suspect that our choice was wrong. Either way, I was sure of my answer.

"What about the gun?" Kagami-kun said. "It's possible that I could have ended up being fatally shot before I could reach for my tazer… assuming that _is_ the weapon I got. Even if I hadn't, then if anything happened to either of my partners, then I'd be a suspect."

"That's true," I said, "but as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You chose a relatively safe shift in the middle of the morning to prevent anything like that from happening."

"I agree," Sae said. "I highly doubt Hoshino-kun would have gotten away with his plan if he'd tried it during that time."

I wished I'd chosen only the most trustworthy people for shifts during Night Time, but perhaps one of those "trustworthy" people would have ended up betraying me. This was no time to regret what had already happened, though, so luckily for me, Inoue-kun managed to get my focus back to the present.

"Ah, good point," Inoue-kun said. "I also recall that out of everyone still here, only two people refused to play FDR:VR- Kagami-kun and Tezuka-kun."

"Hey, I'd have played if I thought I was any good at it," Tezuka-kun said.

"I know, Tezuka-kun," Inoue-kun said, "but if Kagami-kun knew who'd been given the motive, he'd likely avoid playing. Because Fukuda-kun and Katsura-san had additional goals, it's possible that by playing the game, either of them would see him as a threat and try to kill him."

Of course, Fukuda-kun had secretly accomplished his goal, while Katsura-san couldn't bring herself to kill me. Still, with this, we could prove that Kagami-kun had worked to ensure his own safety for every single motive that Monokuma had come up with. Only Kagami-kun seemed unconvinced of his own guilt at this point, while Sae seemed as though she'd had an epiphany.

"What is it, Sae?" I said.

"I just realized something, Kaori," Sae said. "Do you remember those pictures we got?"

"I do," I said. "We decided they didn't mean anything, right?"

"Right," Sae said, "but I have a theory. Most of our photos show us in class or at school-sponsored events. Kagami-kun's photo, however, apparently shows us simply playing around... and he's the only one not in it. Perhaps he was excluded from the group... or elected not to join us, and is willing to hold the killing game because he never cared for his classmates."

It was a bit of a stretch, but Kagami-kun seemed taken aback. Since he was probably the only one who remembered it, we couldn't conclusively verify it, but this was as close as we'd get to having him admit this point.

"All those are just theories," Kagami-kun said. "Do you actually _know_ of a time when I acted suspiciously?"

"We do," I said. "Throughout the fifth trial, you constantly insisted that Sugiura-san had given up on surviving, and tried to steer the trial toward uncovering that Iwasawa-san had let Sugiura-san kill her, in order to convince Monokuma that the murder 'didn't count' as far as his latest motive went."

"What does that prove?" Kagami-kun said.

"It's simple," I said. "You found out about the circumstances behind Iwasawa-san's death, but couldn't reveal them yourself, so you used me to uncover them. To that end, you cast doubt on the idea of Sugiura-san being the culprit and accused Sae, hoping to make it possible that we'd pick the wrong person if I didn't do something. Since we'd have been executed if we chose the wrong culprit, the only choice I had in that situation was to prove that Iwasawa-san had let Sugiura-san kill her. Since Sugiura-san's guilt should have been clear by this point, the only reason you would have forced us into such a scenario is if you didn't care about any of our families."

"Hold on!" Monokuma said. "I've been listening to you accuse Kagami-kun all this time, but there's a big hole in your argument! How could Kagami-kun know what had happened if he never set foot in the baths until after the murder, and shortly thereafter, left until just before the trial?"

"That's easy," I said. "The surveillance system."

"Impossible!" Monokuma said. "Not even I would put a camera in the baths!"

"No, you didn't," I said, "but there is a microphone that records all the sounds in the baths. Two incidents stand out- when Sugiura-san drowned Iwasawa-san, then when she confessed the deed to Sae. It's quite possible Kagami-kun heard one of those, since he brought them up at the trial. It's also quite likely that he overheard the previous planning- after all, he happened to conveniently sit in a place where he could observe Iwasawa-san and Sugiura-san going into the baths and precisely remember the exact times they did so."

Monokuma clapped his paws over his mouth while crying out "Paganitzu!" and the usually serene Kagami-kun gasped in horror. Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun looked speechless, while Sae seemed grimly satisfied with the knowledge. While Kagami-kun had shrugged off most of our points so far, the fact that he was this disturbed by our learning about the existence of the recording device proved I was on to something.

"There's one more thing I'm curious about, Kagami-kun," I said. "I checked the DVD in which everyone gave their consent, and your appointment with the headmistress seems... different from the others"

"How so?" Kagami-kun said. "The headmistress turned off the camera before we talked about..."

Kagami-kun stopped short, whether because he was about to admit something he didn't want to, or because he realized he'd already said too much.

"Interesting..." I said. "I never told anyone else about what I saw on the DVD. Sae was the only one who found it, and she didn't show it to anyone."

"That's right, Kaori," Sae said. "In fact, I didn't even have a chance to view it myself."

"Yeah, and as far as I know, Kagami never left the second floor of the dorms during the investigation," Tezuka-kun said. "Since the headmistress' office only opened after the last trial, I'm betting Kagami's the only one who actually remembers meeting with the headmistress, isn't he?"

I nodded, while Kagami-kun was at a loss for words. At this point, I'd done all I could to prove that Kagami-kun was the mastermind, except for one thing. One last time, I would sum up everything I knew, to convince everyone of the truth.

"I'll go over all the evidence I have that proves the mastermind's identity," I said. "Let me know if I get anything wrong."

 _As you all may know, we were selected for admission to Talent High School based on being extremely skilled for our age in various fields. Three of us were exceptional in various ways- Sugiura-san was both the Ultimate Waitress and the supposed Ultimate Poisoner, I was the Ultimate Beginner's Luck, and the culprit was the Ultimate Copycat, the latter two being highly sought-after talents._

 _Before the school was sealed, the mastermind must have somehow brought in Monokuma, and seized control of the school, hijacking both the means to open the front doors, as well as control over the building's security systems. They then somehow erased our memories, causing us to revert to strangers who did not trust and would not hesitate to kill one another. The mastermind was the sole exception, and this was proven when Kagami-kun admitted that he remembered giving his consent to stay inside the school._

 _With all but one of us having lost our memories, and being told that we'd need to commit a successful murder to escape, the killing game began. Naturally, the mastermind was in danger, too, but they took certain steps to safeguard themselves. They received a tazer as their murder weapon, giving them a way to non-lethally disable any attacker. When Monokuma released our weaknesses, the mastermind received their own weakness. While we stood watch over the gun, the culprit chose a shift in the middle of the morning, which was significantly lower risk than most of the others. The culprit also chose not to play FDR:VR, thereby ensuring that neither Fukuda-kun nor Katsura-san would see them as a threat. In order to cover up the fact that they had no family members who were held as hostages, the culprit destroyed their ransom notepad in the sauna._

 _In the course of investigating the last murder, the mastermind made a critical error. By using a hidden listening device in the baths, the mastermind heard evidence indicating that Iwasawa-san allowed Sugiura-san to kill her, and that Sugiura-san had confessed to her own crime. In order to trick us into admitting that this was not a "real" murder, the mastermind questioned Sugiura-san's guilt, causing me to reveal the truth behind the murder. Unfortunately, the mastermind should not have known this unless they had the ability to hear the conversation._

 _Once Sugiura-san was executed, Monokuma's countdown resumed, and Sae and I only managed to stop it by betting our lives. In order to deflect suspicion, the mastermind attempted to convince us that Sae was a member of Ultimate Despair, since Sugiura-san, the previous prime suspect for the mastermind, was now dead. There is one person who has consistently tried to stay out of harm's way and attempted to deceive us in order to avoid being discovered._

 _The mastermind behind this killing game is you, Sousuke Kagami-kun!_

Kagami-kun scoffed, but didn't seem to take me up on my offer to point out anything wrong with my summary.

"A likely story," Kagami-kun said. "Are you really willing to bet your and Edogawa-san's lives on it?"

"We are," Sae and I said together.

I looked at the other boys, who both nodded.

"I'm convinced," Inoue-kun said. "It's not fair that you two are the only ones whose lives are on the line, so I'd bet my life on Kagami-kun being the mastermind, just like I did by voting for the other blackened."

"Me too," Tezuka-kun said. "Well, Monokuma?"

Since Kagami-kun was the only holdout, under Monokuma's rules, the trial was about to end.

"Looks like you bastards are ready to vote for the mastermind!" Monokuma said. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

We cast our votes for the mastermind- Kagami-kun got four votes and Sae got one. There was no "GUILTY" display this time, merely a moment of silence, broken by Monokuma's laughter.

"Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma said. "That's too bad for you..."

Monokuma then thrust his paw forward at the mastermind.

"...Kagami-kun! Looks like the jig's up, isn't it?"

Kagami-kun chuckled, then broke out in laughter. He then ripped off his glasses, which evidently had been fake all along, and tossed them aside before putting down his headphones and slicking back his hair.

"Congratulations, Miura, Edogawa," Kagami-kun said. "The mastermind of the killing game, as well as the so-called **Ultimate Copycat** , is none other than me, **Sousuke Kagami!** "

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews and the theories. J Carp made a good attempt at guessing the mastermind, even if his guess wasn't correct.

I struggled a bit to find a good "smoking gun" to conclusively expose Kagami, before settling on the DVD and having him admit to knowing what was on it despite not having seen it. Originally, he was going to slip up and actually make a reference to something Sugiura said, either just before she killed Iwasawa or before she confessed to Edogawa (in the latter case, the location of the key to the handcuffs), but I decided against it, since it would be too obvious. It's obviously not the only bit of evidence, since a lot of Kagami's actions seem suspicious in hindsight, but I wanted something that would conclusively prove that he was the mastermind.

Of course, I also didn't want to create a situation in which the characters should have been able to guess the mastermind's identity, so I'm glad that Kagami ultimately wasn't too obvious of a suspect.

Kagami's name and casting his glasses aside is a shout-out to Sousuke Aizen, the initial main antagonist of Bleach.

Next up is the second half of the trial, and the final confrontation with the mastermind. Most of the last two installments of the fic have been written up, so they'll come fairly soon.

The omake shows what the Armament Arguments would be like if this were a game. The mastermind's will come next time.

* * *

 **Omake**

Here's the Final Stikes for each of the Armament Argument opponents thus far. As you can see, the culprits in Chapters II and V have given up defending their own innocence by that point, so someone else steps in to do it for them (a bit like Chapter II of the first game, Chapters II and V of the second game, and Chapters IV and V of the third game).

 **Chapter I**

 **Opponent:** Akito Sakuragi

 **Costume:** A runner's sweatsuit with a finish line tape around his waist. The tape goes first, then his top, then his shorts.

 **Scenery:** A school running track.

 **Question:** You can't prove I was at the crime scene! I never got blood on my shoes!

 **Final Strike** : BLO ODY FOOT PRINT

* * *

 **Chapter II**

 **Opponent:** Momo Iwasawa

 **Costume** : In addition to her standard outfit, Iwasawa wears an overcoat and a straw hat, and carries a pitchfork. She loses the pitchfork first, then her hat, then her coat.

 **Scenery:** A farm field full of wheat, with a barn in the background.

 **Question:** How did Miss Mitamura replace my notepad's battery?

 **Final Strike** : SCR EWD RIV ER

* * *

 **Chapter III**

 **Opponent:** Sora Hoshino

 **Costume:** He wears an Astro _naut_ 's spacesuit and carries a raygun. He loses his visor first, then his helmet, then the rest of his space suit.

 **Scenery** : Outer space.

 **Question** : You can't prove I switched the portraits around!

 **Final Strike** : BLOOD ON THE PORTRAIT

* * *

 **Chapter IV**

 **Opponent:** Daichi Fukuda

 **Costume:** He wears a thick coat and a helmet, along with a hiking stick. He loses the stick first, then the helmet, then the coat.

 **Scenery** : The top of a snowy mountain.

 **Question** : I couldn't possibly have broken Katsura's neck!

 **Final Strike:** FELL DOWN THE STAIRS

* * *

 **Chapter V**

 **Opponent:** Sae Edogawa

 **Costume** : She wears a dark pantsuit with a detective's trenchcoat and carries a riot shield. She loses the shield first, then the trenchcoat, then her suit jacket.

 **Scenery** : A modern crime scene in an alley.

 **Question** : Wouldn't Iwasawa-san want to return home to her village?

 **Final Strike** : HER FAMILY IS DEAD

* * *

 **Chapter VI**

 **Opponent:** Monokuma

 **Costume** : Big Bang Monokuma. He loses his scepter first, then his crown, then his cape.

 **Scenery:** Outside Towa Hills

 **Question:** There's no cameras in the baths! The mastermind couldn't have heard Sugiura-san!

 **Final Strike** : LIST ENING DEV ICE


	29. Chapter VI, Part 3

At long last, the truth had been revealed. The mastermind, the one responsible for the killing game that had claimed most of our lives, had been unmasked, and now stood before us, no longer hiding his identity. The killing game wasn't over just yet, and there were still many unanswered questions, but for the first time, I felt as though the truth was within my grasp.

"So, Miura," Kagami-kun said, "I suppose you have a lot of questions for me about this killing game, don't you?"

"Absolutely," I said, "starting with how and why you became the mastermind. I think I can guess some of the answers, though."

"You really should be careful about making assumptions, Miura-san," Monokuma said. "After all, there's a big secret that none of you know about!"

"What's that?" I said.

"All of you are fictional characters!" Monokuma said. "This killing school life is the fifty-fourth season of Danganronpa- Danganronpa: Death and Rebirth! We almost got pushed off the air after the debacle known as Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, but it ain't so easy to kill a show that the entire world's been watching and loving for 53 seasons. So you lot signed up and let yourselves get brainwashed to become the people you are today."

Having heard the most unbelievable story I'd been told, even after facing off against a few murderers who were willing to tell any lie to save their own lives, I was completely speechless. How corrupt would society have to be for _real_ teenagers murdering each other on TV to become a popular show? What sort of people would willingly involve themselves in such a thing? How could any show, much less one this twisted, stay popular long enough to last 54 seasons? Weren't the Roman numerals for 53 "LIII," not "V3"? It all sounded like a bad joke... and apparently, the mastermind wasn't in on it.

"What the hell are you talking about, Monokuma?" Kagami-kun said.

"Just kidding!" Monokuma said. "You bastards really shouldn't take everything a villain tells you near the end of the game so seriously! Puhuhuh-"

Monokuma suddenly stopped mid-laugh, and I saw Kagami-kun holding up a tablet PC that seemed to be the Master Control. He'd toggled "Manners Mode" to on, and by doing so, had apparently had silenced Monokuma.

"You know, I've been meaning to do this for a while now," Kagami-kun said. "The main thing I can't stand about Monokuma is that he talks too much."

"The main thing?" Inoue-kun said.

"Yeah," Kagami-kun said. "I've got some important stuff to tell you, but it'll be a waste of time if you won't believe what I'm saying. Monokuma's served his purpose, so now he gets to sit quietly and listen."

"So not even you get along with Monokuma?" Tezuka-kun said. "I always knew no one liked that bear."

While Tezuka-kun's remarks were spot-on, they also caused me to think about the piece of evidence that had helped me start my counterattack against Kagami-kun- Monokuma's distaste for the mastermind. Perhaps that was the reason why Monokuma was willing to let us face the mastermind in this final class trial, among other things.

"You know, something always struck me as odd," I said. "I've always known that Monokuma had some degree of autonomy, since if the mastermind was one of us, they couldn't sit in a control room and operate him like Enoshima did."

"Yeah, and what about it?" Kagami-kun said.

"From this exchange right now, and from some of Monokuma's past remarks, I've gathered something," I said. "You and Monokuma not only do not seem to care for one another, but appear to have completely different, albeit not quite mutually exclusive, goals. He wants this killing game to begin again in order to spread despair, while as for you... I don't know what it is you want, but like he said after the first trial, it's not a goal that he'd willingly support. As I thought, you aren't a member of Ultimate Despair, are you?"

I realized the control panel was also the mastermind's insurance policy. Now that the game was almost over, Monokuma would probably decide that the mastermind was no longer useful and betray him... unless he was unable to do so.

"That's about right," Kagami-kun said. "Now, if you'd just pay attention, we're at the part I enjoy most- the part in which I tell you all about my plans and occasionally ask you questions about them."

Now that I thought about it, while Monokuma was the one who'd asked us to answer questions about Talent High School, it had probably been the mastermind's idea. Kagami-kun had probably wanted me to share all of Talent High School's dirty secrets with my fellow survivors and those watching the killing game on TV. The first phase of the trial had been necessary to uncover the mastermind, but I had no desire to play this "game" longer than I had to.

"No thanks," Tezuka-kun said. "I'd rather not indulge the wishes of an evil shithead like you, thank you very much."

"Too bad, because it's not up to you," Kagami-kun said. "I've changed the rules- as mastermind, I count as two people, so voting will only happen when _I'm_ ready."

I checked the rules in my handbook, and saw that the tenth rule had been revised according to what Kagami-kun had said. If the mastermind was going so far and exercising his power to change the rules as he saw fit, my and Sae's chances of getting out of here alive had dramatically plummeted. For now, the only thing we could do was play along.

"It seems as though we have no choice," I said. "I must admit that I have some unanswered questions about the killing game, and your motives for serving as its mastermind."

"All right," Kagami-kun said. "As you've figured out, I'm the Ultimate Copycat, but I never wanted that title. Seeking to make my claim to fame as the Ultimate Inventor, I entered a contest using my photographic memory to copy the blueprints to another contestant's entry and my ability to reproduce things to make a replica of the actual invention. I sabotaged the real thing, since it'd look pretty suspicious if two identical entries were submitted, but I must've gotten caught 'borrowing' the other person's entry."

"You mean _stealing_ ," Sae said venomously. "Plagiarism is the worst thing you can do in any sort of creative endeavor."

"Yeah, I agree," Tezuka-kun said. "What part of 'do your own work' don't you get, Kagami?"

Kagami-kun paused for only a moment, refusing to acknowledge the interruptions with anything more than a disapproving glare.

"The person who confronted me turned out to be a Talent High School recruiter who was amazed that I'd pulled that off," Kagami-kun said. "He said that I had a choice- come to his school as the Ultimate Copycat- i.e. plagiarist- or he'd tell the judges about me and ruin my reputation. If I did go, the reputation of someone who reproduces other's work, rather than creates his own, would follow me all my life. The headmistress' diary put it rather delicately when it talked about me being 'reluctant' to attend."

I'd always wondered why the mastermind had started the killing game, but I hadn't expected to be this disappointed by the answer. While the five students who had become the blackened (and the one who'd tried to) had endangered the group, I could at least understand why they'd done what they did. Sakuragi-kun couldn't accept that he'd be trapped forever, unable to achieve his dreams or return to his old life. Mitamura-san had sought to protect what she'd worked for her entire life to build. Hoshino-kun believed there was no other way out of the school. Katsura-san wanted to protect her family, but couldn't bring herself to kill a friend. Fukuda-kun had found himself in a difficult situation, but chose to do what was best for the group. Sugiura-san had been willing to sacrifice herself to save people she didn't even know. So was Kagami-kun really so dissatisfied with getting into Talent High School that he'd seek vengeance against his schoolmates?

In retrospect, though, Kagami-kun's motives seemed obvious, and he'd dropped more hints than I (and possibly even he himself) had realized. He'd often talked with me about what his supposedly forgotten Ultimate title might be, as well as the various others who had the honor of attending Talent High School and Hope's Peak Academy, and in hindsight, I could see his desire to be viewed as "special," and his envy for the others. A part of me desperately hoped I was wrong- that my friends hadn't died for a reason _this_ petty- but I couldn't find anything to disprove it.

"What a horrible deal- an invitation to a prestigious school that you didn't deserve," I said. "I'll admit that blackmailing you was low, but like Sae and Tezuka-kun said, there's no two ways about it- you're a plagiarist."

Inoue-kun nodded in agreement. Unlike Sae and Tezuka-kun, his talent wasn't related to any creative endeavor, and he wasn't even an amateur writer like me, but he shared our disgust for those who stole others' work.

"A prestigious school?" Kagami-kun said. "Don't make me laugh. Not only is it the discount version of Hope's Peak, but like you said earlier, it was established solely for the benefit of the founder's children, as well as their children. Everyone else is just an extra- the Reserve Course students give the school cash from tuition, while the Main Course students perpetuate the myth that the school actually researches talent."

"That's true," I said. "Of course, as self-serving as the school's true mission may be, we, the students, do benefit a little. The person who served Stone Soup in the story wasn't necessarily altruistic, and neither were the people who contributed the food, but everyone got a meal out of it. My dad always says that sometimes, endeavors born from selfish intentions can actually benefit others and society."

I had to admit that I wasn't completely selfless. While I was determined to end this killing game, I also wanted to get out alive, along with everyone else I cared about, and I believed that Sae, Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun felt the same way. Of course, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since the fact that they valued their own lives meant that they wouldn't throw them away needlessly.

Kagami-kun let out a long sigh.

"Besides, Miura, I was honestly hoping you would understand," Kagami-kun said. "After all, we have a bit in common."

"What?" I said. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what," Kagami-kun said. "Talent High School saw us as nothing more than guinea pigs who further their research into talent. They see us as ordinary people who maybe have a few interesting quirks, but then they'll shoo us out the door, diploma in hand, once they're done with us."

I shook my head. Kagami-kun wasn't wrong about this school, but if he thought I felt the same way he did, he was sorely mistaken.

"I'll admit that I didn't think much of my talent," I said, "and I sometimes questioned whether I deserved to be here with everyone else. But as I spent time with everyone here, I realized that I had a lot in common with them- we all had things we struggled with, quirks, hobbies, and other things that made us human. Even Sae, the one I looked up to the most, was no exception, which is why I'm proud to say she's no longer my idol, but the girl I love. At the very least, I have more in common with her than with you."

Sae smiled warmly, while Kagami-kun frowned.

"How disappointing," Kagami-kun said, "but then, I should've figured as much. Pretty much everyone in our class knew you two were going out back when we were in school together."

"So that explains why my 'weakness' notepad didn't contain the fact that I was a lesbian," I said, "not because it wasn't my most important secret, but because you thought everyone knew already."

"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "I found the dirt on Sugiura and Mitamura in the school's computers, and Mizuhara told us about his nut allergy not long after we all got to the school. Everyone else's was just trivia."

"And what about yours?" I said. "I gather that you gave yourself your own weakness, but I guess it wasn't anything that would compromise your identity as mastermind, right?"

"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "Like you, my 'weakness' was about me being a bed-wetter. Of course, unlike yours, it's not actually true. It's just something that I put up as a placeholder."

I grimaced, knowing that Kagami-kun certainly wasn't the type to play fair. Even though we'd exposed the mastermind, we weren't out of the woods just yet, and I couldn't help but worry that he had another dirty trick in store for us.

"I take it the same goes for your family?" Sae said.

"Well, actually I don't have anyone like that," Kagami-kun said, "which is why I tossed my hostage notepad in the sauna as soon as I got it. Then again, Iwasawa was right all along- her weakness notepad having a dead battery and Sugiura's memory card breaking down were just coincidences."

"I thought so," I said, "but if the Kagami family had been chosen today, Sugiura-san and Iwasawa-san probably still would have gone through with their plan, wouldn't they? After all, who knows whose family?"

"Maybe they would've," Kagami-kun said, "but I'd hoped that Monokuma wouldn't pick your family. After all, there's a chance that you might've been the one we found face-down in the baths this morning."

I had to admit I was skeptical about Kagami-kun's plan, since my survival relied on many different things happening, from getting through every class trial to no one killing either of us. Both of them had happened, but it was clear that the plan hadn't gone _perfectly._

"So not everything went as you'd planned," I said. "The class trial to determine the mastermind's identity seems more like Monokuma's idea than yours."

"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "In fact, it's not as though I was planning this killing game from the start. Remember the interview with the headmistress you brought up?"

"I do," I said. "I take it you remember what you actually talked about?"

"Yeah," Kagami-kun said. "Back when the world was descending into chaos, Talent High School, a pale imitation of Hope's Peak to the last, ripped off Hope's Peak's Shelter Plan. After getting me to agree to the Shelter Plan, the headmistress sent me, with my photographic memory, to steal the plans to the air purifier and to seal the school, so we could be safe from the Tragedy."

I remembered Kagami-kun's remarks about the air purifier, and how we should be grateful for whoever brought it here. In a sense, because he'd gotten the plans, the school had been safe... at least until he'd started up the killing game.

"So that's why the headmistress didn't record it," I said. "It was supposed to be an 'off the books' operation."

"It was, but something went wrong," Kagami-kun said. "The headmistress and I were supposed to be the only two who knew, but apparently, someone found out and leaked the information. I snuck into Hope's Peak and got the information I needed, but on my way out, I got caught- they must've let me get far enough to steal the data, but apprehended me before I could escape. That's when I met _her..._ "

* * *

 _Kagami's POV_

A girl with an athletic physique and short dark hair- apparently **Mukuro Ikusaba** , the **Ultimate Soldier** , dragged me to a room underneath Hope's Peak, holding a combat knife to my throat. There, a girl with strawberry-blonde hair and a gaudy-looking sailor uniform was standing in an elegant posture, wearing a small crown. I'd seen enough magazines to know that she was **Junko Enoshima** , the **Ultimate Fashionista.**

"Junko-chan, I brought the intruder," Ikusaba said, "as well as the data he was trying to steal about the Shelter Project."

Ikusaba tossed Enoshima the flash drive I'd worked so hard to get, with plans for the Shelter Project. I'd already memorized everything, including the blueprints for the air purifier, but I wasn't about to be smug about that triumph. These two psychos clearly had no intention of letting me go unless I proved I was more useful alive than dead.

"Marvelously done, my sister!" Enoshima said. "We had no doubt that you would succeed, in the one thing you're good at!"

Ikusaba blushed, and said "Th-Thanks, Junko-chan." Given their different surnames, I didn't know that they were sisters.

"I don't know what you two are playing at here," I said, "but if Ikusaba's a soldier, she should know that as a POW, I'm only obligated to give three pieces of information- my name, rank and serial num-"

"Your knowledge of the laws of war is quite admirable, Sousuke Kagami-kun," Enoshima said, having discarded her crown, tied her hair into a poinytail and put on a pair of glasses. "But an interrogation is entirely unnecessary, since we know who you are and why you're here- an espionage mission in order to steal information on the air purifier and Shelter Plan. I knew this long before I sent my dear sister to fetch you."

"Wait... did someone tell you all this?" I said.

"Yeah, ain't it fuckin' obvious?" Enoshima said, her hair once again unruly as she stuck out her tongue. "You know how three dudes can keep a secret if two of 'em are dead? Turns out a certain someone besides you and the headmistress knew what you were up to and spilled the fuckin' beans!"

"Who is that person?" I said. "My mission was supposed to be a secret, so who found out that I met with the headmistress?"

"Not telling," Enoshima said in a gloomy and morose monotone, as what looked like mushrooms grew out of her hair.

I bit my lip. If Enoshima already knew this much, then it was quite possible that she also knew my secret, and could blackmail me with that, too. Of course, now that I'd been caught trespassing on Hope's Peak, which was rumored to take... less than savory measures to deal with people snooping around, being exposed as a plagiarist was the least of my worries.

"Anyway, that person's identity doesn't matter," Enoshima said. "Neither do you or your schoolmates, really. Still, you guys are useful in your own way. After all, if Talent High School ripped off Hope's Peak in every way, why not also rip off the killing game?"

"Killing game?" I said.

"It's just like the name says," Enoshima said, with a cutesy smile, showing off possibly the most disturbing personality she'd displayed thus far. "All of you are trapped in the school, and only the one who kills a student and gets away with it can leave. The best part, though, is that all the losers D-I-E!"

"Why'd anyone want to leave?" I said. "We're making our school into a shelter to stay safe from what's going on outside!"

Enoshima giggled.

"Well, what if all the little boys and girls forgot that teeny little detail?" Enoshima said. "The winner kills someone, lets their classmates die, and gets the 'reward' of being forced out to hell on Earth- it's just despairingly delicious!"

I didn't particularly relish spending the rest of my life in this school, but I had to admit I was lucky compared to the poor saps outside. The prospect of one or more of my classmates desperately struggling to graduate before learning that they'd be returning to the very danger that the school sought to protect them from was utterly hilarious.

"Of course," Enoshima said, hoisting up a black and white teddy bear, which I later recognized as Monokuma, in front of her face, "it's not such an easy to thing to kill and get away with it, so the more probable scenario will be a bunch of hopeless idiots killing their classmates, getting caught and executed. Just imagine the un-bear-able despair as the class is whittled down one by one."

Even though I didn't trust Enoshima, I couldn't help but smirk. All those fools who were lucky enough to have actual Ultimate Titles would be pitted against each other in a battle to the death. Since they expected to coast into the nation's best universities by virtue of their alma mater's name, they had no idea of what competition meant... and were about to get one hell of a wake-up call.

"So where do I come in?" I said.

"We have a most special task for you," Enoshima said, after putting the bear aside and returning her crown to her head. "You will be the mastermind behind the killing game, hiding in plain sight and working with our creation, the robot Monokuma, to administer the killing game. Of course, as a participant, you shall be put to death should anyone graduate, but that is unlikely to happen. Win or lose, though, you shall continue our efforts to spread despair to the world, like a grapevine that covers the entire globe!"

It wasn't a bad deal, but I wasn't dumb enough to think Enoshima cared about my interests at all. In fact, I was certain she'd betray me once I was no longer useful. Obviously, saying no was a bad idea, but saying yes was almost certainly unwise.

"What makes you so sure that I'll cooperate?" I said.

"It's because I know the kind of person you really are," Enoshima said with an eerily calm face and tone. "You aren't the sort who'd do this to help others, only to look out for yourself, which must be why you came to steal the plans. Either Talent High School is offering you a reward... or they have something on you. Just like all the Reserve Course students were itching for a chance to strike back at Hope's Peak for exploiting them to fund the Main Course, you've been waiting a long time to get even with Talent High School's administration, haven't you?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. There was no point in lying at a time like this, not when Enoshima had hit the nail on the head.

"You got me," I said. "You really read me like a book, didn't you?"

"It's just a talent I happen to have," Enoshima said. "I have a knack for anticipating what people will do in any situation- from a talentless zero jumping at the chance to become someone special to a bunch of teenagers killing each other if they're given a little push. There's nothing more wonderfully despair-inducing than knowing that in situations like this, people will take the worst choice possible."

I paused for a moment, and realized there was only one choice available. I didn't like the idea of being Enoshima's patsy, but I did relish the idea of disgracing my classmates and watching them die. Perhaps this would end in my death, but if I took them down with me, I could live with that.

"I'm in," I said, "but just so you know- I don't buy into this crazy 'despair' bullshit you're spewing."

"Fine by me," Enoshima said, as the mushrooms returned to her hair. "In fact, it's better this way. The idea of a person like you doing something so evil without the influence of despair is all too despair-inducing in and of itself."

Enoshima signaled to Ikusaba, who then released me. I wasn't about to try any funny business here, but she still watched me like a hawk.

"You'll be wanting this back, I suppose," Enoshima said, handing me the flash drive, "since this killing game can't very well get started unless you make your school safe from the coming Tragedy. I'll contact you with further instructions, but the rest is up to you. Just wait for my signal, and then, the copycat killing school life can begin."

I then left for Talent High School once again. From the moment I'd stepped through the school gates, I'd been under the administration's thumb, but now, things were different. Talent High School would become my castle, and I'd be its king, eagerly awaiting the death and misery that would befall my "subjects."

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

So Enoshima was behind all our suffering after all. She hadn't just indirectly caused this killing game by causing the Tragedy and the killing school life in Hope's Peak, but had given Kagami-kun what he'd needed to establish the game here.

"So did you ever find out who leaked your meeting with the headmistress?" I said.

"Nope," Kagami-kun said. "Enoshima refused to tell me, but said she had 'other plans' for the person in question, so it's not anyone in this class. Apart from that... I have no idea."

For now, Arakawa-san was my initial suspect, since he was a board member who'd conveniently escaped the gallows by virtue of being a hostage. That said, since Talent High School had dozens of faculty and staff when you counted those who worked for the Reserve Course, it was premature to consider him the suspect.

"Anyway, the identity of Enoshima's spy doesn't matter," Kagami-kun said. "She needed someone among this class to play the mastermind, so I happily obliged. In return, her people kidnapped as many of your family members as she could find. They also killed almost everyone who worked for the school, when they went out to find the rest of Class 32."

"So Class 32's still alive?" I said. "And is it possible that some of the faculty survived, too?"

"Hell if I know," Kagami-kun said. "Monokuma's a pretty tight-lipped bastard- well, even _before_ I shut him up- so he didn't tell me anything about the staff or other students. I was hoping the latter would come back before Mitamura sealed the school, but I wasn't lucky enough. Maybe Arakawa's still alive, since he was Iwasawa's hostage, but now that Iwasawa's dead, his status is anyone's guess."

While I was getting ahead of myself, a part of me wanted to find our senpais and rescue them, along with any surviving faculty members. Of course, it was entirely possible that one member of the group was a traitor who'd helped start the killing game.

"So does this mean you're actually a member of Ultimate Despair?" Inoue-kun said. "Or at least you're willing to help them achieve their goals?'

Kagami-kun laughed out loud.

"Please!" Kagami-kun said. "Do you think anyone who joins a cause necessarily believes in everything they say? Or that the people in charge necessarily practice what they preach? Enoshima was really smart, I'll give her that, so once she had everyone eating out of her hands, she could do pretty much anything she wanted."

I suppose it made sense that a self-centered sociopath like Kagami-kun would view someone like Enoshima that way. Since he never cared about anyone besides himself, he'd naturally assume that Enoshima manipulated her own followers for personal gain. He wasn't wrong about Enoshima using others, but he was wrong about why she used it.

"Anyway, I call it a mutually beneficial proposition," Kagami-kun said. "Enoshima spreads despair across the world, and I get my revenge on all of you and this school. Neither of us necessarily care about the other's goals, or each other, but if we get what we want, it's a good deal."

"But hasn't the Hope's Peak killing game ended already?" Tezuka-kun said. "And isn't Enoshima dead by now?"

"That's right," Kagami-kun said. "As Enoshima said, her goal was to show that her killing game had the effect of encouraging other copycat crimes, thus causing her legacy of despair to continue after her death. Now that there's been a second killing game, people might hold a third. Once there's a third, a fourth will follow, then a fifth, in a never-ending chain reaction of carnage and despair."

"And you don't care about any of that?" Inoue-kun said. "You don't care that you didn't just cause your schoolmates' deaths, but that you're furthering the collapse of civilization?"

"Listen to yourself, speaking as though the world isn't already done for at this point," Kagami-kun said. "Besides, let's face it. Enoshima and Ultimate Despair were just the spark that set the world ablaze, and the rest of us of us fueled the fire."

I had to admit that he had a point. Even now that Enoshima was dead, the Tragedy was still going on, and the world had suffered tremendously, quite possibly being damaged beyond repair. Enoshima was definitely to blame, but she wasn't the only one responsible for what had happened.

"Anyway, Miura, I'm curious about something," Kagami-kun said. "Don't you think it's better this way?"

"Of course not," I said. "Why would I consider _any_ of this a good thing?"

"Think about it," Kagami-kun said. "If your life had taken its previous course, you probably would have gone to a pretty good college, then got a job as a businesswoman at some company, just to put food on the table for you and your family until you retire. For all your life, you'd know that there are so many people out there who are wealthier, more talented and happier than you, and would dream of what might have been. Here, you've had the chance to outsmart several Ultimates who committed murder, and be seen as a leader, a hero and a protector of the innocent. Doesn't that sound better than the alternative?"

I shook my head. Even disregarding my less than stellar record in keeping our classmates alive, I'd never wanted to be a hero. Back at the start of the killing game, I thought that Sae or Mitamura-san would be better at leading the group, and after Mitamura-san was executed, I only stepped up because Iwasawa-san thought I could handle the job. Of course, while I regretted not doing a better job, I realized that I didn't regret making the effort to protect my classmates.

"Actually, the alternative wouldn't have been such a bad life," I said. "Of course, as I learned long ago, you can't get everything you want in life. Maybe I couldn't ever become an author, or live a peaceful life, but I can choose to help others. I wish we hadn't gotten caught up in the killing game, but I'm glad I was chosen as the Ultimate Beginner's Luck... because it means I can help put an end to this tragedy."

Kagami-kun frowned.

"I should have known you'd say this," Kagami-kun said. "After all, you stepped up and offered to risk your own life just for the small chance of unmasking me without killing anyone. Still, it's not that I didn't enjoy this conversation."

"What do you mean?" Sae said.

Kagami-kun chuckled evilly.

"All this time, you all must have been so confused as to why you're here, and why the mastermind was doing this," Kagami-kun said. "I wanted to answer your questions and give you one last taste of despair now that most of you are dead. The truth is that this tragedy was authored by the very people who participated in it, and all of you only have yourselves to blame. So much for the 33rd class of Talent High School, the cream of the crop chosen by the school that's a cheap knockoff of Hope's Peak. But I suppose that's what happens when you set up a school on false premises."

I paused to think a moment, struck by the similarity between our situation and that of Naegi-kun and the other Hope's Peak students. We'd reached the end and uncovered the mastermind, but only after losing most of our number to the tragedy. Even if we survived and made it out, we couldn't call it a complete victory.

The bile rose in my throat for a moment. The blackened had been responsible for their own actions, but they'd also been forced into a situation in which they'd been led to believe that killing was the only way to keep themselves or their loved ones alive. A thought occurred to me- none of us would have had to die playing Kagami-kun's "game" if I'd killed the son of a bitch long ago.

I quickly shook my head, composed myself and put that thought out of my mind. Not only did I not know Kagami-kun was the mastermind until he'd slipped up in the last trial, but killing him would have made me a murderer, as well as the winner of the killing game. I couldn't bring back the dead or undo what had happened, but we could end this game once and for all.

"I'll admit that Talent High School has made some less than noble decisions," I said. "In fact, you're probably right about that point. However, I stopped having any sympathy for you the moment you set up a killing game to murder your classmates."

Sae and Inoue-kun nodded to concur.

"Me too," Tezuka said. "No matter how you slice it, Kagami, you're a sick bastard who made us kill each other, then sat back and enjoyed the show."

"Sat back?" Kagami-kun said. "You're absolutely right. You lot, the supposed 'Ultimates' of Talent High School, are the ones who did all the killing. To think that they actually thought you were good enough to pass off as the Ultimates, the guys who make it look like the school has actual standards for those it lets in. Boy, the recruiters really screwed the pooch, didn't they? Not that it's a surprise- they've got a lot in common with Hope's Peak in that regard."

Kagami-kun erupted in raucous laughter, reminding us once again that even if he paid for his crimes, he'd mostly succeeded in achieving his evil goals- and that was the _best-case scenario_ at this point. On the other hand, while that outcome was by no means guaranteed, the fact that I could reasonably imagine it said a lot about our current situation. We hadn't won just yet, but for the first time, the killing game no longer seemed like an unwinnable battle against the mastermind in which graduation was the best outcome we could hope for.

"You know, something always struck me as odd about this," I said. "The Hope's Peak killing school life was a tragedy, but in the end, hope triumphed over despair. If Monokuma knew what had happened, didn't he know about the outcome, too?"

"You'll have to ask him," Kagami-kun said, "but personally, I'm guessing that he did."

Kagami-kun made no attempt to deactivate Monokuma's "Manners Mode," so his theory was probably as close as I'd get to a conclusive answer to my question.

"I thought so," I said, "but back when Enoshima was setting up this plan, she must have assumed that despair would triumph in Hope's Peak. That must be why we were allowed to learn about the outside world- because she didn't think we'd take the news any better than those at Hope's Peak did. Even if she wanted to feel the despair of her plans failing, she never expected that the students would choose hope and escape."

"Maybe not," Kagami-kun said. "Of course, their bodies are probably rotting somewhere in the ruins of what used to be Japan."

For someone who'd managed to conceal his nefarious schemes for the entire killing game, and who was so smug for much of the trial, Kagami-kun seemed a bit vulnerable at this moment. He'd gotten most of what he wanted- the deaths of the classmates he hated- but maybe he hadn't fully accomplished what he'd set out to do.

"Besides, aren't you forgetting one thing?" I said. "As Sae is no doubt aware, all these scenes in which the culprit rants about their motives for committing crimes happen when the culprit is about to be arrested. Not only do the four of us know what you've done, but thanks to the cameras, so does the entire world."

"That's right," Sae said. "Given Japan's extremely high conviction rate, not to mention the fact that the suspects in question have already confessed, they'll almost certainly be found guilty and punished severely. I hope you can enjoy this while you can, because it won't last."

"You're the ones who are forgetting something important ," Kagami-kun said. "This is still a class trial, and there's going to be one last vote."

"Vote for what?" I said. "We already found out that you're the mastermind."

Kagami-kun laughed, then gave us a smug grin.

"It's a bit simpler this time," Kagami-kun said. "Rather than vote for a culprit, all of you must vote for hope or despair. If everyone votes for hope, I will be punished and all of you must leave the school and go into the outside world- or stay in here and suffocate, since the air purifiers will shut off once I die. If anyone votes for despair, Miura and Edogawa, along with anyone who voted for hope will be punished."

I wondered what would be in store for the survivors if they chose despair, but it was a moot point. Not only would Sae and I not be alive to see it, but we were determined to ensure that it wouldn't come to that.

Kagami-kun then reactivated Monokuma.

"-uhu…?" Monokuma said. "Oh, you need me, Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah," Kagami-kun said. "It's time for the final vote, Monokuma."

"Got it!" Monokuma said. "The rules will be the same as in the previous killing game. With that out of the way, what's it gonna be, folks? Hope... or despair?"

I nodded. This was the most critical moment of the killing game- one last chance to save the four remaining spotless, myself included. In my case, there was only one real choice.

"I already know what I've decided," I said. "I'm voting for **hope**!"

Sae nodded. I wondered if Kagami-kun regretted sentencing her to death if despair won, because that way, she had no reason not to vote for hope.

"So will I," Sae said. "Kaori's been at my side, supporting me every step of the way, and even now, is risking her life alongside me. I'll stand with her, and vote for **hope**!"

I turned to Tezuka-kun and Inoue-kun, whose votes would decide our fates, and who I trusted to do the right thing. While some of my classmates had given in to the temptation, and sought to graduate to save themselves, there was now another possibility- to punish the mastermind and escape together. After everything we'd been through together, I had faith in them to end the killing game once and for all.

"I've never really been a very optimistic person," Inoue-kun said, "but I'm also not the kind to betray my friends or spend the rest of my life trapped inside here. That's why I'm voting for **hope** , too!"

Tezuka-kun chuckled.

"Gosh, what a hard choice," Tezuka-kun said, "either finally get out of this place, or be left here with a murderous asshole. I'll be choosing **hope** , just like the six survivors of Hope's Peak did!"

Kagami-kun glared at Tezuka-kun, Apparently, providing the documentation for the killing school life had been his undoing. While we couldn't be sure what had happened to the survivors of Hope's Peak, we did know that they'd chosen to brave the ruined world.

"Then that's settled," I said. "Let's cast our vo-'

Kagami-kun grinned and chuckled, having apparently regained his composure... and realized something.

"Looks like you're forgetting yet _another_ important thing," Kagami-kun said. "I have a vote, too! And I choose... **DESPAIR** **!** "

Everyone went silent, and Sae, Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun froze in horror. Unlike Enoshima, Kagami-kun didn't care about making a point so much as causing suffering to others, so I should have known he'd cheat at this stage in the game. Not only had Sae and I been doomed from the get-go, but by getting Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun to vote for hope, I'd sealed their fates.

"Did you think I would do things like Enoshima did?" Kagami-kun said. "I never planned on letting any of you survive. Once the killing game was down to myself and one other survivor, preferably Miura, I planned on telling that person everything before killing them and completing my revenge. All you managed was to end this a little more quickly."

At that point, I remembered something that Monokuma had said just now, about following the same rules as "last time," yet another small but significant choice of words. By themselves, they didn't mean much, but there was a certain piece of evidence, one bought with Katsura-san and Fukuda-kun's lives, that had a significant clue. By unveiling the truth contained within, and learning about the destruction of the outside world, we'd nearly been overwhelmed by despair, but like Pandora's Box, I saw a glimmer of hope within the darkness. Grasping that hope, I smiled confidently.

"Go right ahead, Kagami-kun," I said. "Vote for despair... if you can."

"If I can?" Kagami-kun said, laughing out loud. "I can... and you can bet that I will! You four imbeciles just signed your own death warrants by voting for hope! All I need to do is vote for despair, and then watch Monokuma punish you!"

"That's just the thing," I said. "You don't get to vote. The book we all read together about the history of the tragedy revealed that the six survivors of Hope's Peak- Naegi-kun, Kirigiri-san, Togami-kun, Asahina-san, Fukawa-san and Hagakure-kun- all voted for hope, but Enoshima was not included. Do you know why?"

Kagami-kun didn't answer that question. On the contrary- Sae, her spirit revitalized, did.

"I do," Sae said. "Enoshima's intent was to break Naegi-kun's friends, so they would betray him and vote for despair. But he got through to them, and convinced them to put their lives on the line and stand with him against Enoshima. I love and believe in Kaori, so I'll do the same for her."

"I...Idiot!" Kagami-kun said. "You would've been just fine if you'd kept your mouth shut at the end of the trial! See? The guys will just vote for 'despair' and save themselves! They'll die if they choose hope!"

I turned to Inoue-kun and didn't see any despair in his eyes. He turned to Kagami-kun and shook his head.

"When it comes to situations like this, it's not a question about odds, or how much you have to lose," Inoue-kun said. "It's about right and wrong. Maybe Naegi-kun's friends were scared, but they knew what they had to do, and so do I. I'm still voting for hope."

If this was a trial, we'd have won by now, but we still needed Tezuka-kun to vote for hope. Kagami-kun still had the advantage over us, but I wasn't concerned at all. I trusted Tezuka-kun to do what was right, but for Kagami-kun, who'd betrayed all his classmates and never formed a true connection with any of us, that was another story entirely.

"TEZUKA!" Kagami-kun bellowed, looking increasingly desperate. "Don't tell me that you're siding with these cretins!"

"Hey, nobody said I was all that bright," Tezuka-kun said with a grin. "But even I know that voting for hope's the best stupid decision I've ever made, so I'm gonna stick to my guns."

Kagami-kun gibbered, his smug demeanor all but eradicated. I had to admit that after weeks of the mastermind pulling the strings and watching the distance, turning the tables on Kagami-kun was extremely satisfying.

"So there you have it," I said. "We've made up our minds. It's time to vote, Monokuma."

"You bet!" Monokuma said. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

This time, we had two large buttons before us- "HOPE" on the left and "DESPAIR" on the right. Without hesitating, I, along with the other three, selected "HOPE." Once again, we were making a difficult decision, but I had no doubt that we would achieve the right result. I believed in my friends, as well as the girl I loved, as well as our ability to find the truth, hold onto hope and make our own future together.

* * *

The results then came up, with two large "Hope" and "Despair" signs instead of the portraits of each of our classmates. My portrait appeared next to Hope, and soon, Sae's, Inoue-kun's and Tezuka-kun's followed. Finally, the word "Hope" filled the screen.

As the four of us breathed a sigh of relief, Kagami-kun turned pale, then his jaw dropped. As soon as he regained enough composure to speak, he said the first thing to come to his mind.

"Wh...Wh... WHAT THE FUCK?!" Kagami-kun said.

Monokuma, no tat all displeased that his mastermind had lost, let off another "Puhuhuhu!"

"Miura-san sure is perceptive," Monokuma said. "I did say 'same rules as the last killing game,' which means the mastermind doesn't get a vote- after all, there's no point in this unless the students are the ones who choose despair. It'd be one thing if one or two of them had chosen despair- they'd get to live after sacrificing Miura-san and Edogawa-san- but no matter how you look at it, you lose."

"You bastard!" Kagami-kun said. "You'd side with them over me?"

"I'm on the same side I always am on, Kagami-kun," Monokuma said, "the side of despair! It's clear by now that those four aren't gonna break, but it's not a total loss. At least I get to see _your_ despair as your plan crumbles to dust! Didn't you remember that Junko-sama killed her little sister?"

"NO!" Kagami-kun said. "This is NOT happening!"

"Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma said. "Looks like you were never Ultimate Despair mate-"

Kagami-kun then silenced Monokuma with the Manners Mode button. Perhaps he was able to stall his own fate, but now, he was alone with four students who were united against him. Monokuma couldn't execute him now, but he couldn't protect him, either... not that we had any intention of killing him.

"Don't worry," I said. "Even after everything you've done to us, we don't plan on killing you. I think I speak for Sae, Tezuka-kun and Inoue-kun when I say that I've had enough of people dying senseless deaths right in front of me."

The other three nodded in agreement.

"As the mastermind, you will be held responsible for everything that happened," Sae said. "I have no doubt that your punishment will be quite severe, but as a minor who hasn't killed anyone himself, you may be able to avoid the death penalty. Some people may believe this is more mercy than you deserve, but not u-"

"Screw that!" Kagami-kun said. "No way in hell am I gonna rot in jail!"

Kagami-kun dashed to Monokuma's seat and put his trembling right hand over the red button Monokuma had used to punish us. At that moment, I asked myself- was this the outcome I really wanted?

"Wait!" I said. "Like Sae said, you don't need to die! We've lost too many classmates to this killing game!"

"I think so, too," Inoue-kun said. "I think the girls speak for all of us, right?"

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "I don't really think much of you, but like Miura said, it'd suck if this shitty game ended with one more of us dying."

" _You're_ pitying _me_?" Kagami-kun said with a bitter chuckle. "When you get outside and see what the world's like for yourself, you'll all wish you'd gone out with me! I'm getting off easy compared to you."

Sae sighed and shook her head.

"It would appear he has made up his mind," Sae said. "Loath as I am to allow him to die on his own terms, I don't believe we can stop him now."

"Yeah," Tezuka-kun said. "Better him than us, right?'

Inoue-kun nodded somberly.

"Now then," Kagami-kun said, "I've prepared a very special punishment for Sousuke Kagami, the Ultimate Copycat!"

"So even you can't cast your Ultimate Talent and identity away in the end?" I said.

Kagami-kun , however, didn't seem to hear me or care, as he slammed his hand onto the button.

"Let's give it everything we've got... IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

 **Congratulations!**

 **Kagami-kun has been found guilty.**

 **Time for the punishment!**

* * *

 _The Ultimate Copycat, Sousuke Kagami's Execution: Executed_

 _The Ultimate Punishment, Version 2.0_

 _Chef's Surprise_

Kagami-kun sat in a wooden chair, without restraints on his hands or legs, in the middle of a road. Poisonous animals, likely leftovers from Sugiura-san's execution, swarmed in and bit him repeatedly. Ordinarily, the poison would run his course and he would succumb, but this was only the opening act.

 _Rocks Fall, Kagami Dies_

Several devices that looked like pitching machines launched baseball-sized rocks at him. The rocks, mostly aimed at his torso, bruised him, drew blood and even seemed to break bones, but none of them were immediately fatal. After all, Fukuda-kun's demise had come from his fall.

 _A Magnify-cent End_

An intense beam of sunlight shone down, setting the wooden chair and Kagami-kun himself ablaze. Perhaps this would kill him before the poison did, but either way, he'd spend his last moments in indescribable agony. Seeing him like this didn't inspire much pity, but I hoped Hoshino-kun been incinerated too quickly for him to suffer when he'd met a similar fate.

 _Even Monokuma Makes Mistakes In Writing_

A spear, thrown from the heavens, pierced Kagami-kun through his chest. I couldn't tell whether it had hit any vital organs, but it wasn't a wound that he would be able to survive- Mitamura-san hadn't, either.

 _Running Man_

All this was beside the point, though. Another steamroller came toward Kagami-kun , just like it had for Sakuragi-kun, but this time, the machine was headed for him, rather than chasing after him. Kagami-kun , poisoned, stoned, burned, impaled, and soon to be crushed, looked up at the machine and let out one last cry- whether of agony, rage, or even fear.

His cries were cut off with a sickening crunch as the machine rolled over him, ending his torment... and the killing game.

* * *

In the courtroom, we stood, watching Kagami-kun 's execution. None of us felt happy- even if we thought of it as defeating an enemy, it wasn't one worth defeating. Our victory had involved too many casualties, and the future was uncertain.

Even the mastermind's death was not a happy occasion. Kagami-kun had betrayed us, exulted at the deaths he had helped cause and had chosen to escape justice for his crimes, but he'd been part of our "family," as Sugiura-san had put it, yet another student who spent his days in here with us. Perhaps he'd never realized this- or maybe he had, which was why he made us watch a classmate being executed one last time- but I'd never know.

But while I had many regrets, I still was grateful for this outcome. The four remaining students, who had avoided the temptation to graduate, were still alive. Having thought Sae and I were going to die mere minutes ago, I was grateful for my renewed lease on life, however long it lasted. With that in mind, I walked over to where Kagami-kun had stood and retrieved his Master Control. Since there wasn't a passcode or any sort of authentication system, anyone could use it.

I quickly flipped through the options. There was an option to listen to audio or video recordings from around the school, an option to remotely access the information I'd found on the motives in the data center, and an option to open various locked doors around the school, including the front door, but no option to turn on the air purifiers. The screen that showed the air purifiers' status also informed me that they'd shut off moments ago, just after Kagami-kun's death.

"Well, that's that," Monokuma said, having somehow come back on again. "The Talent High School killing school life is now over- thank you all for your participation."

"Why, you're welcome," I said, deeply sarcastic. "But you're really going to let us go like this?"

"The mastermind's dead and you four are still alive, so I'm a bear of my word," Monokuma said. "This _is_ what you wanted, right?"

The others nodded decisively.

"That's right," I said. "From the very beginning, we wanted to end this game and escape to freedom and safety."

Monokuma then let out a "Puhuhuhu!", thus causing our enthusiasm to give way to confusion.

"If you say so," Monokuma said. "Just don't blame me when you're dying out in the ruins of the Japan you once knew- it _was_ your choice, after all."

"I know," Inoue-kun said. "The odds might not be in our favor, but I'm still willing to face them. After all, Naegi-kun's group did the same, so there's some precedent, right?"

"Who knows?" Monokuma said. "Still, if you bastards live it long enough to meet up with the group of do-gooders known as the Future Foundation, tell them this: as fun as you guys were, you were just a side show, and the main event's still coming up."

So _there_ was the Monokuma I knew all too well. All this furthered the cause of despair, and perhaps our victory would as well. Despite that, we were still alive, and free to do what we wished with our lives.

"Oh, I most certainly will," I said. "After all, someone has to stop whatever it is you're planning."

"Stop me?" Monokuma said. "Puhuhuhu! It's more like you bastards will play right into my paws! I know you all too w-"

Monokuma stopped short, as I activated his Manners Mode, having heard all I wanted to.

"Kagami-kun was right about one thing," I said. "This is a convenient function."

"True," Sae said. "That's not the only thing it can do, right?"

I nodded, showed the group the "Open Front Door" option. Everything leading up to this- getting through each trial, finding the mastermind and even defeating the mastermind- had all been a means to an end, and this was the end we'd sought.

"Everyone," I said with a smile, "it's finally time to leave this school."

* * *

 _End of Chapter VI  
_

 _Surviving Students: 4_

 **Headphones** : A memento of Kagami. He enjoyed using them to listen to music, as well as to access audio recordings on his Master Control.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Kagami is meant to be a deconstruction of the "mastermind" characters. As someone who sits back and hides in the shadows, he's unlikely to have Junko's appeal, and by manipulating other characters to get the killing game started, he shows his sociopathy. He's also not meant to be "cool" or charismatic in any way, simply a cowardly and sociopathic psycho who enjoys the suffering of others.

Here's a list of mementos for the characters that weren't executed- the six murder victims and four survivors.

 _Checker Board: A memento of Akasaka, one that she often played with against her friends and family._

 _Signed Book: A memento of Edogawa. Signed, 'To Kaori Miura, a loyal fan and true friend.'_

 _Foreign Language Dictionary: A memento of Inoue. He took it with him while he was still not fully confident in his mastery of the language._

 _Overalls: A memento of Iwasawa. Even far from home, she was always a farmer at heart._

 _Business Card: A memento of Katsura. She presented one to everyone she met, hoping to cultivate lasting and profitable professional relationships with her schoolmates._

 _Lance Piece: A memento of Kurogane. His well-planned offensive strategies were proof of his skill and determination to win._

 _Nine Gates Yakuman: A memento of Miura. This rare mahjong hand caught the recruiter's attention._

 _Backpack: A memento of Mizuhara. It often carried fishing supplies, lunch and lifesaving medicine._

 _Rough Sketch: A memento of Tezuka. A basic idea for a piece of art that will never be committed to canvas._

 _Sports Pennant: A memento of Yuuki. A bit of sports merchandise that bears her old school's team logo._

And here's an omake showing the final Argument Armament with Kagami, modeled after the final one from V3. This one includes the various taunts from each round.

Next up is the epilogue. The story's almost over, but I'll include some announcements in the author's note next time.

* * *

 _Omake_

 **Round 1 (Kagami has a smug grin on his face)**

You signed your own death warrants when you agreed to this challenge.

Did you think that any one person could overturn the killing game?

Think about it- you lot were the one who did the killing.

And in every class trial, you voted to execute the blackened.

You see? I'm not the only one at fault here.

 **Final Strike 1 Question** : As long as I vote for despair, nothing you do matters!

 **Final Strike 1** : MASTE RMIND CAN'T VOTE

 **Miura and Edogawa** : The Mastermind can't vote!

 **Round 2 (Kagami has a slight frown)**

Do you think you'll be safe if you leave this school?

There's polluted air, tainted water and no food around.

Who in their right minds would want to live there?

It's not like the world was a good place before now,

but it's gotten a hell of a lot worse, I tell you.

You might've forgotten sealing yourselves in here, but you know now.

If you know what's good for you, vote "Despair" now!

 **Final Strike 2 Question** : What kind of idiot would go out into the outside world?

 **Final Strike 2** : HOPE'S PEAK SURV IVORS

 **Miura and Inoue:** Those who survived the Hope's Peak killing game!

 **Round 3 (Kagami is glaring, and a bead of sweat is trickling down his face)**

What is wrong with you cretins?

First Miura bets her life, then Edogawa bets her own?

And now even Inoue's sticking his neck out for them?

Don't you all value your own survival?

I'm sure you all were scared shitless when the killing game started.

Well, sometimes, it's only sensible to be scared.

Don't you get that you're going to die if you lose here?

Aren't you afraid?

 **Final Strike 3 Question:** Why are you so damn willing to risk your lives?

 **Final Strike 3:** BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT

 **Miura and Tezuka** : It's the right thing to do!

 **Round 4 (Kagami's expression is one of unbridled fury, his face is beet red and he's sweating bullets).**

D...Do you think you've won?

I've already killed most of you by now!

The world knows what kind of "school" this place is?

What the hell are you fighting for?

Are you that eager to avenge your dead friends?

Or do you just want to join them?

Whatever! I don't understand you anymore!

TO HELL WITH YOU ALL!

JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY!

 **Final Strike 4 Question:** Nothing you do matters! You're still playing my game!

 **Final Strike 4:** _NO THAT'S WRO NG_

 **Miura, Edogawa, Inoue and Tezuka** : NO, THAT'S WRONG!


	30. Epilogue

**Epilogue: The First Step**

The four of us rode back up the elevator one last time. It was always a bittersweet feeling to leave the courtroom with all but one of us still alive, even if that person was a murderer, and this time was no exception.

As we emerged from the elevator, I once again checked Kagami-kun's notepad, trying to find any way to reactivate the air purifiers, but once again came up with nothing. Apparently, the cameras had also shut off, now that the killing game was over.

"I'm guessing there's no way to get the air purifiers going again, is there?" Tezuka-kun said.

"Unfortunately, no," I said. "Kagami-kun set it up so that he's the only one who can keep them going, and now, he's dead. We're fine for now, but if we stay in here, we'll eventually suffocate."

The fact that the air purifier had shut off was a harsh reminder that while we'd been desperate to escape the school, we'd taken our bare necessities for granted. Under the rule of the killing game, any of us could be murdered or executed- and most of us *had* been- but we didn't have to worry about starving, dehydration, heat or cold, running out of air or other such things.

"Yeah, that sucks," Tezuka-kun said, "but we knew what we were getting into when we voted for hope."

"Indeed," Inoue-kun said. "At the very least, I'm sure this is a better outcome for Sae and Miura-san."

Sae and I nodded, grateful to be alive after six class trials, and glad that we wouldn't have to go through another one.

"Anyway, even if we need to leave soon, we shouldn't rush," I said. "There's still breathable air in here, so we should take a few minutes to gather food, water and medical supplies. Who knows when we'll find more?"

The four of us headed to the warehouse and retrieved four backpacks, along with a first aid kit. We then headed to the kitchen and took out as much non-perishable food and bottled water as we could carry. After filling our backpacks, we decided to eat some of the food we couldn't take with us in order to fill our stomachs, since we'd missed lunch. Our meal was fairly simple, but it couldn't be helped, since by the end of the first class trial of the day, both of our cooks were dead.

As we sat and ate in the dining hall, we noticed how empty it was. At the beginning, the sixteen of us filled all the tables, but now, at the end, the four of us could sit comfortably around one table. As I looked around, a thought occurred to me.

"Since we have a moment, I've come to realize something," I said. "We never properly said goodbye to Iwasawa-san or Sugiura-san."

"I know," Sae said. "Why not say a few words, Kaori?"

I nodded.

"I'll start with Iwasawa-san," I said. "When Monokuma started this killing game, he did so anticipating that we'd betray each other, murdering each other in order to graduate and sacrificing the blackened to stay alive. I don't think he expected that anyone as kind, helpful and selfless as Iwasawa-san would be part of his game or last as long as she did. Iwasawa-san lived her life helping out those close to her, and ultimately died for my family, people she'd never meet. I may not share her religious beliefs, but I do hope she's in a better place now, since she deserves that much."

The others nodded in agreement. I took a napkin and quickly wiped away my tears, which had started to flow while I was speaking.

"Next is Sugiura-san," I said. "I realize that I was the only one she considered a friend, since she wasn't willing to let many people close, but that didn't mean that she didn't care for the rest of us. She was willing to lay down her life for our sakes, as well as people who were strangers to her, and died without realizing that she'd given me an opportunity to find the mastermind's identity. We owe debts of various kinds to the dead, and the greatest one of all to our Ultimate _Waitress_."

The others silently concurred. Not only had Sugiura-san helped me realize that Kagami-kun was the mastermind, but she'd also suggested that there was a hint of some sort in the account of the Hope's Peak killing game.

"And last..." I said hesitantly, "I feel I should at least say _something_ about Kagami-kun. I cannot forgive what he did to all of us, but all the same, I cannot forget that once, I thought of him as one of us. At the very least, I wish things had turned out differently... just like I wish the same for everyone else who died."

If the others disagreed with me, they didn't express it. Katsura-san had once suggested that she wasn't fit to decide how to punish the blackened, and I felt the same way, but if it had been up to us, we certainly wouldn't have sentenced them to any of Monokuma's punishments.

"That's all," I said. "Too many of us died in this school, and I'm sorry I couldn't do more to prevent that."

The others didn't seem convinced. I was fairly sure they weren't completely happy with how things turned out, so what part of my statement did they disagree with?

"It's not like I don't get what you're saying," Tezuka-kun said, "but if you hadn't done so well on the final trial, you and Edogawa would be dead, y'know?"

"I agree," Inoue-kun said. "For the longest time, I never thought this outcome- escaping the school without graduating- would be possible. I might have hoped that sixteen- or maybe fifteen- of us would make it out rather than only four, but I'm grateful that more people survived than I anticipated."

"I know," I said, "but back in the courtroom, I couldn't help but wish that I'd killed Kagami-kun at the start of the killing game. If I had, then maybe everyone else would have survived."

Sae shook her head.

"But if you'd killed the wrong person, you'd have been executed," Sae said, "and the killing game would have resumed until it reached a much less pleasant conclusion. The killing game was a tragedy from the moment Sakuragi-kun killed Kurogane-kun, but it's thanks to our efforts, yours most of all, that this many of us stayed alive."

"Fair enough," I said. "Of course, I can't help thinking about the friends I lost, or wishing that they could be here today."

"Neither can I, Kaori," Sae said. "All we can do is be grateful for the fact that we're alive, and make the most of our lives."

I nodded. I didn't know what sort of life or career I'd have in this post-Tragedy world, but I suspected that it would involve rebuilding the world, starting with finding our missing families and schoolmates. After that, I wasn't entirely sure, but a part of me was looking forward to finding out.

"I will," I said. "I'm sure any of the others would have said the same if they were alive today."

We let the subject drop, since none of us were in the mood to talk about what might have been. I wasn't sure which was more depressing- the idea that we should have done better, or the fact that things could have gone much worse. All the same, though, Sae had a point, and perhaps it was best to be grateful for what we had.

* * *

After we finished eating, we set out for the entrance to the school. As Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun went on ahead, Sae asked me to come with her, and the two of us went to the classroom where I'd woken up. Once we arrived, we stood in silence for a few moments.

"Is something wrong, Sae?" I said

"To tell you the truth, Kaori, I'm a little scared," Sae said. "I honestly don't know what's going to happen once we open the front door."

While I still thought choosing "hope" was the right decision, I had to admit that I shared Sae's doubts. Monokuma was not known for being merciful, but he was willing to let us go.

"I don't know, either," I said, "but we can't stay in here, either, even if I could get the air purifiers started up again. I'm sure the outside world is a harsh place, but I'm also sure that there's many people struggling to survive and rebuild civilization, and it's up to us to help them. Our loved ones are out there, too, somewhere, and I believe that if we work together, we may be able to find them."

"You're right," Sae said. "That is what's most important, after all. I know my sister's being held somewhere, and if there's a chance my father is still alive, I'll find him, wherever he is. Thank you for reminding me of this."

"You're welcome," I said. "It's not as though I don't have doubts myself, but I believe this is the right decision."

Sae nodded in agreement. Since she'd been the one who'd provided me encouragement and support throughout the early killing game, I was glad to return the favor whenever I could.

"Speaking of which..." I said, "for a long time, I wasn't sure whether I should confess to you- you might not feel the same way or people might oppose us getting together- but in the end, I decided to be true to myself."

"I'm glad you did," Sae said with a smile. "While I am a bit worried about that your parents and my father might not approve about us, I can live with it if they're still alive. Besides, right now, I don't think anyone's watching or judging what we say or do."

"I'm sure of that," I said. "Well then, shall we?"

We then leaned in and kissed. Truthfully, a part of myself was burdened with doubts and worries- what others would think of us, whether our relationship would last and whether a cruel twist of fate would await us in the future. Still, while I didn't know where I'd end up in the future, I had no regrets about taking this first step.

Moments later, we heard a snicker, and I saw Inoue-kun and Tezuka-kun peeping into the classroom.

"How long have you two been watching?" I said.

"Long enough," Tezuka-kun said, "by which I mean that we saw you and Edogawa kissing."

I blushed. While I'd come to terms with being a lesbian, that didn't mean I wasn't self-conscious in moments like this. Inoue-kun, however, didn't seem to feel the same way, possibly because he had a more American view of public displays of affection.

"If you don't mind my asking," Inoue-kun said, "why bother to hide the fact that you're now girlfriends? If you wanted some privacy, then we're sorry. If you were hoping to keep it secret, that ship's already sailed. If you're worried we won't approve... well, you don't need to, right, Yusuke?"

Tezuka-kun chuckled.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Shinchi," Tezuka-kun said. "I've been pretty sure you two were an item for a while now, and you know what? I'm totally fine with it."

Sae and I smiled, then thanked the two boys. Perhaps I had reason to worry about what people might think about my being in love with Sae, but if we could trust our friends to put their lives on the line to stop the mastermind, then it was only natural for us to trust them to accept us.

* * *

The four of us then headed for the entrance, and stood side by side before the school's front door. As I held the Master Control in my hands, my guilt and grief abated for a moment, as I realized that we'd accomplished the goal that we'd been fruitlessly pursuing for twenty-six days. The killing game was over, and we were now free to leave the school. There were many more people who deserved to be here for this moment, but all the same, I was glad the four of us had made it.

I took inventory of what everyone had, and realized I was still carrying the photo album I'd picked up during my investigation.

"Oh, I still have this," I said, as I held the photo album up. "Technically, this isn't essential, but..."

"But?" Tezuka-kun said.

"But it's also a record of our time at this school, as well as a memento of our dead friends," I said. "It doesn't seem right to just leave this behind."

"Not at all," Sae said. "Memories are all we have left of the dead at this point, and since our memories were wiped, this is the only proof we have left that the sixteen of us- yes, even Kagami-kun- were once part of the same class."

I nodded, before putting the album back in my backpack. I then started up the Master Control, and clicked the "Open Front Door" option. The system presented me with one final confirmation prompt, to ensure that this was a conscious decision, rather than an errant tap on the touchscreen.

"All right," I said. "One click of this button, and the door will open. Are you ready?"

"I was _born_ ready," Tezuka-kun said.

"You know what to do," Inoue-kun said. "We all made up our minds back in the courtroom."

"No matter what's out there, we'll face it together," Sae said, offering me her hand. "And remember this- I'm always with you."

I smiled and took Sae's hand.

"All right, Sae," I said. "Here goes."

With Sae's right hand in my left and the Master Control in my right, I pushed the button to confirm my choice. The door slowly opened, and for the first time in a long while, we saw the light of day. Together, the four of us took the first step into our future...

* * *

 _The Beginning..._

 **Master Control:** Proof that you've completed the game. The device entrusted to the one responsible for the safety and well-being of Class 33 of Talent High School.

 **School Mode Unlocked**

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for reading this fic, as well as your reviews, favorites, follows and theories.

Feel free to check out Where Talent Goes to Die: Side Stories, if you'd like to see the characters' Free Time Events and other stories, as well as Where Talent Went To School, which features stories from the cast's day at the school. There will be a few new Side Stories coming out in the relatively near future, in no particular order.

*What would have happened if Sakuragi had killed Kagami instead of Kurogane in Chapter I.

*A list of all executions, not only for the killers, but also for the victims and survivors, as well as a different one for the mastermind.

*School Mode, which will likely consist of an introduction, some scenes depicting Miura hanging out with her classmates and an ending with scenes for each classmate.

*On April Fool's Day, I'm planning on releasing a Side Story in which the four survivors read a fake announcement for an upcoming sequel, including a sneak peek at the cast. If you're interested in submitting a character, I'd be willing to take suggestions, in a parody of Submit Your Own Characters, and will credit you for your proposals. Character suggestions should have a name that's preferably non-Japanese, a highly odd talent, and a brief description of what role the character might play. Suggestions must be submitted via PM, and the deadline is March 22.

*A "demo mode" for the sequel. The "demo mode," probably won't be published for a while, though, and the sequel will take even longer to come out.

For now, I included two brief scenes that take place after the doors to the school open.

* * *

 **Post-Epilogue**

We stood outside Talent High School, horrified at what we'd seen. Out in the distance, the city was in ruins, and the sky above us was blood red and filled with dark clouds. What we'd heard about the world falling into ruin hadn't been a lie, as much as we'd like to hope that it was. The only question left was whether it was beyond saving.

Immediately afterward, a few men in dark suits ran up to us. The good news was that we were not the only humans left on this planet, but the bad news was that we didn't know who they were or what they wanted with us.

"Hold it right there!" one of the men said in perfect Japanese. "Hands where I can see them!"

All four of us complied and put our hands up. We didn't know whether this man was friend or foe, but it was best to avoid trouble for now. We could only hope that the new arrivals were trustworthy.

"It's all right," a young man in a similar suit who looked like he was our age said. "They're unarmed and mean no harm. Stand down."

"Yes, sir," the man said.

Since it was clear that the young man was friendly, we relaxed a little, even if we were a bit surprised that the youngest of them was the one giving orders.

"You must be the survivors of the Talent High School killing game," the young man said. "I'm sorry we couldn't come to help you earlier."

"I understand," I said. "The school was sealed up tightly, so not only could we not get out, no one else could get _in_ , either."

"True," the young man said. "I'm personally all too familiar with your situation."

My friends and I nodded, but something seemed odd. Only a handful of people had ever been in a situation that was similar to the one we'd just escaped, so was the young man standing before us one of them?

"But I'm forgetting my manners. My name is **Makoto Naegi** , the former **Ultimate Lucky Student** and part of the Future Foundation. Nice to meet you!"

* * *

 **Post-Post-Epilogue**

 _Elsewhere, some time later, Monokuma's POV_

The Manners Mode deactivated, as a result of whoever had the Master Control- probably Miura-san- going out of its effective range. I let out another of my trademark laughs.

Even though I underestimated Miura-san, she was pretty shortsighted. She was so focused on escaping the school with her surviving friends that she didn't even stop to think about what she'd do with me. She hated Junko-sama so much, but it never occurred to her that I had the woman's personality coded into me.

Now that Kagami-kun was dead and Miura-san had left for the world outside with her girlfriend and their friends (meaning they were probably dead, too), I was free to act without the pesky Master Control telling me what to do. And now that the killing game was over, I was despairingly bored. So I decided to get going, and set out for the wider world to have some fun. After all, someone might just set up a third killing game somewhere, and I wouldn't miss it for the world... or at least, what was left of the world.

When I stepped outside, I took a moment to survey the scenery, a moment that was soon rudely interrupted. Someone punched a hole in my head and reached inside me, disabling the explosive failsafe that the boys and girls in Class 33 of Talent High School had been smart enough not to trigger. Before they scooped out my circuitry and everything went dark, I heard only two words in a familiar voice.

"So boring..."


End file.
